The Magistrate: Chapter 27 (Patreon)

Chapter 27

The First Step to Immortality

A year later, Tobias finally woke to a world without pain, hunger, and exhaustion. The relentless onslaught of pills had broken him on more than one occasion. His bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles grew in short spurts, adding inches to his height in only days. Then there was the agony as they changed shape, transforming his body for more perfect proportions. Each transformation was another dose of hell, but certain meridians were so painful to cleanse that Tobias could only describe the experience as being burned alive.

The fear of returning to that world of agony had prevented Tobias from willingly continuing. Each time this happened, Tobias screwed up his courage long enough to ask Eunuch Ho to bring the imperial healers to intervene. The imperial healers came at his request and held him down, force-feeding him spirit beast meat to speed up his recovery, before dragging my back to the cultivation chamber and shoving another pill down his throat.

That was now in the past. It was a painful past, and one that would not be forgotten.

Tobias lay in bed staring at the ceiling, marvelling at a body free from pain and the knowledge that he would not be dragged back to the cultivation chamber. It had been eight days since he had woken inside the cultivation chamber as he broke through to the initiate realm.

The delirious memories of the agonising experience were seared into his brain. The surge of chi that had rushed through his body, transforming mortal flesh into cultivator flesh, was unlike anything that had happened before. He’d felt each one of his twelve greater body meridians churning with chi as they pushed chi through his pathways, building up pressure within his body meridian network to force his breakthrough.

That pressure pressed against his blocked lesser body meridians, increasing the pressure until he felt like he was going to explode. Then all at once, every lesser meridian popped open, detonating a small amount of flesh around them, and oozing the contamination held within them and the meridian pathway around them.

The smell was beyond anything he’d ever encountered, but thankfully, he’d passed out within a few minutes of them erupting, no longer able to fight through the sedative effects of the pills. The cleansed chi from his greater body meridians had flowed into his lesser meridians for the next three days, forcefully cleansing and strengthening them, until he finally woke.

As Tobias lay in bed, he examined the world around him, noticing all the changes for the first time. Without the pain of recovery, the world seemed a different place. He could see the grain of the wood hidden under the lacquer above him and smell the scent of the servants who had entered his room while he slept. His skin was so sensitive that he could feel the individual fibres of the silk clinging to his skin. His hearing was so sharp that he could hear a conversation in the kitchen two buildings away.

He possessed a mental clarity that he’d never felt before, and mental calculations that would have required paper and pen in his past life came effortlessly to him. Tobias could see faults in the plans he’d made since arriving at the 1st Prince’s palace and how he could fix them going forward.

He knew without a doubt that he had gotten smarter. He’d gone beyond the intelligence he possessed in his previous life and entered new ground. It was as if the world had opened up, and he was seeing it for the first time.

Disciple Wo had tried to explain what it felt like to enter the initiate realm, but his descriptions did not do it justice. It was not an enhancement of who Tobias had been, but a complete transformation of who he had been to who he was now. The two men did not share the same reality.

And yet, this was only the beginning of his transformation. There was still more to come. With hard work, he would grow stronger and fitter. This would enhance his mind and body until the man he was now could not be compared with the man he would become with training.

Despite these improvements, Tobias still had no wish to cultivate. The year of pain and agony he’d suffered through to get to where he was now was still fresh in his mind, and the thought of continuing made him shudder.

Perhaps as he grew older and weaker, his feelings would change, but in the present, he wanted no more than he had been forced to accept.

As the sun rose, Eunuch Ho entered Tobias’s bedroom to check on him and gave a deep bow when he noticed he was awake. “How may I assist, Magistrate?”

Tobias sat up, noticing no discomfort or weakness. “I believe I’ve finished recovering from my breakthrough.”

Eunuch Ho bowed again. “If I may be so bold, let me be the first to congratulate you, Magistrate.”

Tobias waved away the man’s words because he knew they were only platitudes.

Eunuch Ho noticed his attitude and changed the subject. “The 1st Prince’s imperial healer has asked to be allowed to examine you once you recover. Do I have your permission to summon him?”

“You do.”

“Is there anything else you require?”

“Prepare a bath for me and summon the imperial tailors. I need a new wardrobe, so my appearance does not disgrace the 1st Prince.”

Tobias had grown nine inches over the past year, reaching a height of six feet. His shoulders had widened dramatically along with his ribcage. None of his clothes fit him anymore. The robe he was wearing had been provided by Eunuch Ho so that he would not have to appear before his assistants in his undersized garments, but they were not suited for daily life. Tobias preferred his magistrate robes.

“You will have a new wardrobe by the end of the day, Magistrate.”

“You are dismissed, Eunuch Ho.”

The man hadn’t warmed up to Tobias despite serving him for a year, and Tobias had given up any attempt at trying to sway him. They were never going to have anything more than a purely formal relationship. Despite that, Tobias liked the man. He was a diligent worker in everything he did, managing the other eunuchs with gentle efficiency.

As the eunuch left, Tobias went to his desk and began writing letters. His new mind was a raging tempest of ideas and plans. None of these plans would see him escape the 1st Prince’s palace. The 1st Prince’s existence was still beyond his influence. But these new plans would see his family prosper, even if he should not survive the 1st Prince’s scheme.

As Tobias wrote, each brushstroke was artfully placed, displaying a level of skill that he had never been capable of in the past. His writing speed was also greatly enhanced. Tobias noted this is passing because the tempest of ideas rampaging within him took precedence. Nothing could distract him until they had been implemented.

He finished the last letter before the servants had prepared his bath and spent the rest of his time looking over the auction’s account ledgers that he’d been neglecting. He knew that the second auction had been three times the size of the previous one, but he had no idea how many silver or gold pills Disciple Xi had managed to produce.

The numbers surprised him.

There was an eightfold increase compared to the previous year. Aunty Nang had diverted the proceeds from his share to the housing project as instructed. Unlike the previous year, the additional pills that he had to purchase had not been turned into pills. Most had remained as spirit herbs, and Tobias had given them to Disciple Xi to experiment with. The rest had been turned into specific pills so he could gift them to Magistrate Park and Magistrate Ching for the help they had given him. Tobias figured he might need allies in the future, and buying their loyalty before he needed them was easier than doing so once he did.

They had also gone out of their way to help him when he needed it, and he felt like he was in their debt.

Despite the fierce competition, Tobias had also asked Disciple Xi to purchase a set of stomach meridian opening and cleansing pills for his grandpa. The old man had lived a hard life and was getting on in years, and Tobias did not want him to pass away before he saw him again. Without him in charge, his father and uncles would fight over everything.

And unlike the previous year, Tobias felt his relationship with Disciple Dong was strong enough to ask him to guide his grandpa through the process. The chi saturation in the Three Step Hills was too low for the pills to work, and Tobias couldn’t afford to build a cultivation chamber there, because that was not something that silver could buy, so having a cultivator supply his grandpa with chi was the only way he could make the pills work.

Tobias wasn’t willing to risk sending his grandpa to Cloud City. The altitude might kill him. And while providing free accommodation to Disciple Dong to help his grandpa was expensive, it was something he could easily afford.  

The rest of his morning passed uneventfully. Tobias bathed, met with the tailor for his new wardrobe, and then had lunch with Disciple Xi, preparing the Three Towns Tea his grandpa had sent.

“How are your studies progressing?” Tobias asked after they had finished their first cup.

Disciple Xi smiled. “Quickly. The imperial alchemists have no interest in the pills I wished to study. They have been more than accommodating, teaching me every technique they know for their preparation, and then leaving me to produce what the military needs unsupervised. I’ve made substantial progress towards my goal.”

“Good. Any problems?”

“I wouldn’t call it a problem, but the imperial alchemists have offered to teach me the recipes for specific energy meridian opening and cleansing pills.”

Tobias frowned. “Are they allowed to do that?”

“The recipes and techniques are a national secret. However, once I reach the core realm, it is a secret I would be required to learn as an elder of Cloud Sect.”

“Why?”

“The Great Plague killed so many alchemists that it nearly caused The Three Kingdoms to lose the recipes. All sect elders who specialise in alchemy in The Three Kingdoms are now required to learn these recipes up to the peak of the core realm so that this cannot happen in the future.”

The tension in Tobias eased. “So, they are allowed to teach you, but it is up to them whether they do before you become an elder.”

“Yes.”

“Would you like to learn?”

“I believe so. Knowing three distinct methods for producing the same pills has greatly helped my understanding. Knowing more techniques for producing more powerful pills may also offer a similar benefit.”

“You have my permission to accept their offer so long as it does not come with any requirements from you other than assisting to lighten their workload.”

“Thank you, Magistrate.”

Tobias turned to the real reason they were having lunch. “Can you accurately assess what the pills have done to me?”

Disciple Xi paused and then shook his head. “Not as well as the imperial healers.”

“The 1st Prince’s imperial healer is going to examine me this afternoon. I would prefer to have some idea of what has happened to me before we met, so he will be more forthcoming with his information.”

Disciple Xi gave Tobias an understanding nod and picked up the tea set and moved it to the side, before leaning forward to place a hand on Tobias’s forehead and stomach. He closed his eyes for several minutes, and Tobias sensed something moving through his body.

It was the first time he’d been able to sense chi, so Tobias closed his eyes and examined the feeling. Exploring what Disciple Xi was doing to the best of his abilities.

Tobias accurately predicted when Disciple Xi was about to remove his hands, by the way the feeling inside him receded and opened his eyes at the same time as Disciple Xi.

Disciple Xi placed his hands on his knees. “It would appear you have gone through three divine transformations: one complete and two partial.”

Tobias frowned. “I believe I remember you saying those were rare.”

Disciple Xi blushed. “I was misinformed at the time. The imperial alchemists have corrected this gap in my knowledge for me. From what I have learned, divine transformations are only rare when someone does not use divine pills for every meridian and the pills that have been provided are not designed to be complementary like the ones you were given. If you had been given even one divine pill that used Cloud Sect’s recipes, you likely would not have gone through a divine transformation.”  

Tobias had caught a glimpse of his reflection in the pond in the garden and had not recognised the beautiful man looking back at him. Mirrors were something most cultivators shunned, not because they promoted vanity, but because cultivators could enter and exit the mirror world through them.

Those who learned assassin arts often used them to bypass defences, so Cloud Sect did not allow anything larger than a hand mirror on their grounds. The imperial palace did not even allow those.

When Tobias had seen his reflection in the pond, the only description he could use for his appearance was divine. As this was not the first time he’d had to get used to a new face, he did not find the experience troubling. The changes to his appearance meant little to him, but the improvements to his health were more than welcome.

His childhood had not been kind to his body, and Tobias was always aware that if he pushed himself too hard or ate poorly, he would become sick. That was in the past, now.

“I take it that the transformation of my appearance is the complete transformation you spoke of,” Tobias said.

“I believe so.”

“What about the other two?”

“The easiest one to explain is your meridians and pathways. They have greatly increased in size and strength, yet they show none of the secondary effects from having gone through this transformation.”

Tobias folded his arms. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“You know the way a river cuts through a valley, wearing away the earth and stone over time?”

“Yes.”

“Think of the valley as your meridians. As they grow larger and stronger, there are traces left behind that show your progress. You’re meridians have none of these signs, despite the changes to their size and strength. They look no different than someone who has just entered the initiate realm.”

“And yet you say that is only a partial transformation.”

“Yes, I was told a full transformation would leave your meridians and pathways comparable to those of a true cultivator. Yours are significantly better than they were, but still only half of what a cultivator would be born with.”

Tobias nodded. “And the other transformation?”

“That seems to have affected your mind and body to some degree, but to less of an extent than your meridians and pathways. I can’t accurately gauge these changes, but I can tell by our conversation that they have had some influence on your mind.”

“How so?”

“You do not pause to think like you did in the past.”

Tobias had noticed that change but hadn’t realised it would be so obvious. “Thank you for your assistance.”

Disciple Xi bowed. “You are most welcome, Magistrate.”

Tobias motioned to the tray. “More tea?”

“Yes, please.”

“Is there anything you would like to discuss? I haven’t been myself recently, so I’m unaware if your needs are being met.”

Disciple Xi shook his head. “My cultivation has suffered slightly from being here, but that will be corrected when we leave.”

“Good.”

“Are you well?”

Tobias shook his head. “Only physically.”

The year had been emotionally traumatic. The pain he’d experienced had soured much of the joy in his life.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No. I suspect this is something that will only get better with time.”

***

Tobias didn’t want to begin studying right away. Instead, he wanted to improve his cardiovascular health. The brain was a demanding organ, and increasing his oxygen capacity would enhance his ability to think, so the following morning, he had his assistants accompany him to the 1st Prince’s training grounds to learn how cultivators trained.

By the end of the day, Tobias was certain that their methods were identical to how he’d trained back on Earth, only far less efficient. Cultivation allowed cultivators to take shortcuts that mortals couldn’t, so they hadn’t developed the same fundamentals for safety and progress as researchers in his previous life had. They merely threw themselves into gruelling exercise regimes, pushing themselves to the absolute limit so their cultivation would force their body to adapt to the stress.

It did not seem like an effective way to achieve the desired outcomes, so the following day, Tobias decided to try 4x4 training to see if it was more effective than just running. He did so under the watchful gaze of his assistants, spending four minutes running at a hard pace and four minutes at a less punishing pace.

As the sun began to set, Tobias flopped onto a bench, heaving for breath. His assistants had been with him every step of the way. They comfortably took a seat beside him, accepting the food and water provided by the eunuchs. As Tobias caught his breath, he guzzled the cup of water handed to him and motioned for another.

“What…do…you…think?” Tobias asked.

Disciple Wo scowled. “It seems to be more effective than the method I was taught.”

Disciple Xi shared the same scowl. “Your heart rate went higher than the training methods we showed you yesterday and remained higher much longer than I would have thought possible, given what I understand of the body. Your cultivation didn’t allow your body to adapt to the stress any faster than yesterday, but when you did adapt, the adaptation was bigger, leading to greater progress.”

“So, it’s…more effective.”

They both nodded.

“Good. Tomorrow you can…go back to your…own training. I can…work on this…alone.”