The Magistrate: Chapter 45 (Patreon)

Chapter 45

Unintended Cultivation

The clan heads and sect leaders were busy people, so they promptly left with their entourages on the morning of the third day, making a pilgrimage to the Imperial Palace to deliver the 2nd Emperor a copy of Tobias's work and announce that he and his family were under their protection. That to harm them was to harm the Great Clans and sects.

The emperor had no vendetta against Tobias or his family, so the manuals Tobias created were likely enough for him to put a stop to the 2nd Prince's actions. Sending assassins after a royal magistrate and his family was one thing. Sending assassins after the only potential sage The Three Kingdoms had produced since the Great Plague was another. Especially when that sage could never rise to power to challenge his rule.

Tobias understood how delicate his position was, which was why he'd held off selling his discoveries for so long. If he had handed it over sooner, his understanding wouldn't have been as deep or as valuable to the Great Clans and sect, so he likely would have found himself as a permanent guest of the 2nd Emperor. Now, if the 2nd Emperor tried to hoard Tobias's discoveries for his clan, he would face strong opposition, so would any of the Great Clans or Sects.

Tobias understood that sharing his discoveries freely with everyone would create a situation in which they all benefited from his independence and feared what might happen if one group gained control of him. He'd forced them to become invested in his independence.

Tobias barely managed to prepare his revised understanding of enlightenment before his guests left, delivering the new manuscript as a parting gift. Every member of the entourage had already copied his other manuals and manuscripts, and compared their copies to ensure they were the same as everyone else's, so Tobias's knowledge would soon be so widely spread that there would be no way for the information to be repressed.

After seeing off the last of his guests and accepting the divine energy meridian cleansing pill he needed for his third energy meridian, Tobias made his way to his shopping and entertainment district, moving through streets crowded with retired disciples from all four sects. The disciples visited restaurants and tea houses, attended performances at theatres and music halls. They brought trinkets, furniture, or new robes to celebrate festivals, creating a steady stream of revenue for Tobias to fund his extravagant lifestyle.

Tobias barely gave them a second thought as he approached the House of Sound.

Xu Ling had mastered every cultivation exercise Tobias had created and understood everything he discovered. She had taken that information and used it to deconstruct her father's cultivation methods and techniques, tweaking them to better align with his dao path. The new techniques still weren't perfect, but she'd had a limited number of methods and techniques to draw from.

That was no longer an issue.

And Tobias wanted to share the good news with her as soon as possible.

As Tobias reached the back door to the Xu family apartment, the door opened. Xu Feng offered him a friendly smile as he stepped back, inviting him in.

"I didn't expect you until this evening," he said

Tobias yawned as he walked inside and stopped at the foot of the staircase. "My guests stayed only as long as etiquette required, and my disciple would be quite upset with me if she discovered I had decided to take a nap instead of bringing the news she's been waiting for."

Xu Feng chuckled as he closed the door. "I wasn't going to mention how tired you looked. Is this related to your sister's enlightenment?"

Tobias reached into his robe and handed over a copy of the new enlightenment manuscript. "Lingling's enlightenment expanded my understanding, allowing me to see what I was missing. Correcting my mistakes before my guests departed required me to go without sleep."

Tobias had trained his body to go without sleep, causing it to adapt the same way it had adapted when he trained to become stronger or fitter. He could now function for up to a week without rest, but the ability to function didn't stop him from being aware that he needed to sleep the entire time.

Xu Feng took the book and led Tobias up the staircase and into the apartment, motioning to the fainting couch near the far wall. The apartment was almost identical to the one they had in Mist City. The only difference was that the living area was filled with furniture, and the dining area was a separate space. Xu Ling had taken up painting again and had purchased the furniture to display her models in various poses, which was why the place was so cluttered.

Tobias glanced at the couch.

"My daughter is practising the new cultivation exercise she's been developing. Feel free to take a nap until she appears."

The Wandering Minstrel's techniques and spells revolved around music, so they were significantly different to those practised by most cultivators. Tobias had left creating support exercises up to Xu Ling to see how much she had progressed and to help her grow her understanding to assist her father, so he wasn't surprised she was busy.

Tobias gave Xu Feng a grateful smile as he took him up on his offer. He walked over to the couch, lay down, rested his head in his palms, and was asleep in seconds.

Becoming a peak initiate realm cultivator had drastically increased Tobias's awareness of the world around him. For months, this awareness had made it difficult for him to sleep as any minor sound or movement woke him. Eventually, he'd adapted to these changes, figuring out which sounds and movements were cause for concern and which were to be ignored.

You only needed to have an assassin try to kill you in your sleep once for it to affect you for the rest of your life, so Tobias slept much lighter than he once had, even around those he trusted.

Tobias slept through the afternoon, only waking when he heard Xu Feng's servants begin laying out the evening meal. He could hear Xu Ling's heart beating across the room, and he smelled fresh paint, which could only mean one thing. He opened his eyes to see her painting his portrait.

With each passing year, Xu Ling grew more beautiful, slowly cementing her place as the greatest beauty of her generation. An obsidian waterfall ran down her back, past shapely hips and toned legs from training. Skin as white as the stars in the sky made her vibrant jade eyes sparkle.

She looked like a goddess out of legend.

Xu Ling smirked as he turned to face her. "You make a very pretty painting, Master."

She only ever called him master when she was teasing him, when they were in public, or when he happened to teach her something that forced her to admit he was worthy of the title. She still wasn't comfortable with being his first disciple or the limitation it had placed on their relationship.

Tobias returned the smirk. "I'm sure any painting of me pales in comparison to one of you.""

Her smirk grew. "It depends on the artist."

Tobias rose from the couch, feeling refreshed, and crossed the room to investigate what Xu Ling had created while he slept. Her paintings were so detailed that they could be mistaken for photos, and her creativity enabled her to make anything she wished.

Despite being filled with awe at the beauty of her creation, Tobias sighed.

Her painting of him wasn't true to life. Yes, the image showed him fast asleep on the couch with sunlight streaming through the window. However, his robe was open, and you could see far too much of his bare chest and abs to be decent. Her use of light and shadow had only enhanced this fact. The painting spoke of the true beauty that cultivators could achieve, and Tobias felt it cause a change within him. Looking at it made him want to be more beautiful, more refined, more like the inspiring figure which lay on the canvas.

Xu Ling giggled. "I think it's my best work."

Tobias smirked, ready to get his revenge. "You should ask your father to sell it for you. I imagine it would fetch a decent price."

Xu Ling blushed, eyes widening at the thought of her father seeing what she had created. Before she could destroy it, Tobias plucked it off the easel and dashed into the other room, where Xu Feng had sat down for dinner.

Tobias held out the painting for him to see. "Some might think that you allow your daughter to be unchaperoned."

Tea exploded from Xu Feng's mouth as he saw the painting. He motioned for Tobias to bring the painting forward, so he could study it in more detail, as he began to laugh.

Tobias walked around the meal the servants had laid out and handed him the painting as he heard Xu Ling groan in the other room. "You have to admit it's exceptional."

Xu Feng's laughter died off as he studied the painting more closely. "This is beyond exceptional. It's transcended mortal art."

Xu Ling walked to the dining room and scowled from the doorway. "You're just saying that, so I don't destroy it."

Xu Feng looked up and shook his head. "This is cultivator art. You may have created it to amuse yourself, but any master would look upon this and sense the dao influence beneath."

Tobias understood little of cultivator art, beyond its ability to inspire and trigger dao insights or personality changes within those who viewed it.

Tobias's only other experience with its effects was when he entered his shopping and entertainment district. The lingering dao from the original craftsmen had caused an illogical reaction within him, twisting his mind without him noticing. That lingering dao had compelled him to restore the district to its former beauty.

The effects were far too subtle for Tobias to notice, changing him in small ways, but these small changes cause larger changes when they became actions. He took minor risks he wouldn't have taken before seeing the district, chasing opportunities that could create the fortune he needed to see the place restored.

And restoring it did require a fortune.  

The modern artistic masters of The Three Kingdoms were a shadow of those who came before them, and the restoration of the district had been as expensive as Elder Kang estimated. Cloud Sect hadn't been trying to take advantage of him like he thought.

However, the moment the district was restored, that impulse disappeared from Tobias. He was left with a momentary feeling of satisfaction and then a horrifying realisation that he hadn't been in control of his actions for nearly a decade.

Restoring the shopping and entertainment district made no financial sense. It would have been far simpler and faster to tear it all down and build another district. Instead, he'd paid for a painstakingly expensive restoration.

Thankfully, Elder Kang was standing beside him when this realisation occurred. Cloud Sect was fully aware of what had happened to him. They had been aware of the change since the day he returned from the district with Disciple Wo.  

Elder Kang had gently explained that cultivator art was not for mortals, especially mortals whose divinity was as low as his. When he'd first entered the district, he'd had no defences against the fading dao that infused it. This fading dao was incomprehensible, so his mind was warped to make him want to restore it so he could make sense of what he saw.

Since these changes did not significantly affect his personality or prevent him from performing his duties, Cloud Sect had decided not to attempt the dangerous medical interventions that would free him. And when he'd earned enough money to restore the district, they'd made sure that it was done correctly, so that he could be freed from its influence.

Tobias turned away from the painting the moment he realised it was cultivator art, wanting nothing to do with it.

Xu Ling noticed his discomfort. "Fine. I'll keep it in my room."

Xu Feng shook his head. "I'm not letting you keep this in your room. That would be scandalous."

"I painted it."

"You can have it back when you marry Magistrate Finch. I'll store it safely until then."

Xu Ling didn't like that. "I'll paint it again."

Xu Feng chuckled. "Feel free to try. I'll destroy anything of a similar nature which isn't cultivator art."

Tobias saw the look in Xu Ling's eye and realised Xu Feng had just put his foot in his mouth. Xu Ling would create paintings like the one in his hand until she could create cultivator art at will.

Tobias felt like groaning, because he was her favourite model, but settled for sitting down and joining Xu Feng for dinner. Xu Ling glared at her father for a few more seconds and then joined them.

Xu Ling picked up her chopsticks and then placed them back down. "I forgot to ask you, did the clan heads or sect leaders provide you with any insights to direct your studies?"

For the past two years, Xu Ling had been patiently waiting for him to guide her into the core realm. There was always more for her to learn, so she didn't push the matter, but Tobias knew she was frustrated by the fact that she couldn't progress further. If she had followed her father's cultivation method, that wouldn't be a problem, but, like him, she wanted to walk her own dao path.

To keep her happy and slow the decline of her divinity, Tobias had allowed her to gather spiritual energy and form it into droplets, which she could compress into a core. She had done so in record time and had been sitting at the peak of the foundation realm for years. However, without a body cultivation method to further strengthen her, she wouldn't survive the tribulation.

Tobias had created numerous body cultivation methods over the years to expand his understanding, along with one he felt was truly exceptional, but none of them allowed him or others to walk their own dao path. No one he had spoken to knew how to create one that would either, so he was left in the awkward position of waiting for Peace Master So to visit Patriarch Lee and explain what he was missing.

The issue Tobias couldn't overcome was that body cultivation methods were designed not only to strengthen your body but also to make it easier for you to gather dao insights related to the method you used. You were infusing a dao into you, making it a part of who you were, so you could more easily comprehend that dao. This altered your chi and your spiritual energy, aligning it with an element, but it also changed your personality.

Even the most neutral body cultivation method he'd created would result in personality changes, because a proper body cultivation method required spirit herb baths and pills. These baths and pills were influenced by the dao of the spirit herbs they came from, and there was no way to remove that without losing the other beneficial effects.

Tobias shook his head. "They were intentionally vague with their questions, keeping far away from anything that has to do with what we needed."

The lack of a body cultivation method created their second problem. Even if they did create a body cultivation without a dao influence, they would still lack the dao insights they needed to form their core. These insights were supposed to be moulded into the very first layer of your core, creating an environment that could nurture the nascent soul growing within.

Tobias was trying to figure out how one went about walking their dao path, but so far, he'd been unsuccessful. He hoped that becoming a foundation realm cultivator would give him the insights he needed to make some progress.

The foundation realm would boost his divinity and sensitivity to chi, allowing him to manipulate it outside his body, which might be integral to growing his understanding. With his current capabilities, he was like a blind man trying to comprehend colour. He didn't fully understand chi or the truly mystical side of cultivation, and that needed to change.

He also couldn't hear dao whispers, which made understanding dao incredibly difficult for him. He still wasn't entirely sure what it was, despite everything else he understood.

Xu Ling frowned. "Do you think the sect libraries will provide the answers you need?"

Tobias shrugged. "They're far more extensive than the libraries of the Great Clans, so they might provide some insights. However, I don't imagine those insights will be enough to understand dao insights and their relation to core realm cultivation. The Great Clans have always trimmed their libraries, keeping only the manuals they considered valuable. Essentially, I have access to the best material already."

Xu Ling gave a tentative smile. "Material you can now share?"

Tobias nodded. "You and your father have complete access. However, you can't make copies or remove manuals from the library. They have to remain within my compound once I move them there."

Tobias had been living outside the sect for years. However, he still visited his old residence nearly every day to review the library's contents and examine the translations the Lee Clan had sent him.

Xu Feng stroked his jaw. "Did they agree to your other terms?"

"You want access to my gardens, I take it?"

"No. Cloud Sect will open its pill auctions to a wider audience in a few years, so it isn't necessary. I was actually thinking that with this deal, you've successfully propelled your family into a position that leaves them as powerful as a third-tier cultivator clan."

"That was always my intent," Tobias replied.

Xu Feng fell silent at Tobias's declaration.

Third-tier clans had the resources to provide their family with a cultivation base in the foundation realm. Second-tier clans could provide a core realm cultivation base. The Great Clans could provide resources for their family for a nascent soul realm cultivation base. And the emperor's clan could provide resources for the sage realm cultivation base, but only to a limited few.

In the past, these tiers each represented a higher realm, but the fallout from the Great Plague had reduced not only The Three Kingdoms' capacity to produce cultivators, but the peak to which they could produce them.

Becoming a third-tier clan would provide Tobias's family with a level of freedom few in The Three Kingdoms ever saw. They would be able to travel across state borders without permission, purchase land wherever they pleased, and engage in business on a much broader scale. They would also be allowed to raise a private guard and personal army if they wished.

Tobias felt a smile creep across his face. Right about now, the heads of the Great Clans and leaders of the sects would be delivering his collection of manuals to the 2nd Emperor, making it clear that Tobias and his family were now under their protection. To harm his family would be to harm the Great Clans and sects.

The emperor's clan and his army were powerful, but combined, the Great Clans and sects were their match. This stalemate was the only reason the empire hadn't devolved further than it already had. The Great Clans were trying to preserve the traditions of the past, while the emperor sought to build an absolute monarchy.

Tobias's smile vanished as he sensed a disturbing shift in the chi moving through him. It was like all the chi in the world had suddenly decided to flow in a single direction. The three of them all turned their heads, staring towards where the chi was flowing to.

Xu Feng frowned. "The chi is flowing towards the Imperial Palace."

Tobias closed his eyes and focused his senses. A feeling reminiscent of what had happened to Lingling only a few days earlier saturated the chi. "I believe the emperor is undergoing enlightenment. Only someone in the sage realm could disturb the world to this degree."

"He can't be," Xu Ling replied. "The emperor is a prodigy."

"Just because a prodigy has never been witnessed undergoing enlightenment, it doesn't mean they can't."

The three of them all turned towards the entrance of the building, sensing Patriarch Lee's appearance. The man had encased the building with his aura, so everyone, including Tobias, could sense him.

A moment later, he stood beside Tobias and bowed to Xu Ling. "You need to come with me for your own safety."

Tobias knew the technique. It was called aura shifting, and it allowed a core realm cultivator or above to teleport within their aura. However, it required enormous amounts of chi, so cultivators only used it in emergencies.

They all stared at Patriarch Lee with varying levels of confusion.

"The emperor's enlightenment shouldn't be dangerous," Tobias replied, not understanding his friend's concern.

"It wasn't. What you're sensing is the sage tribulation triggered by his enlightenment."

Tobias still didn't understand. "Why is Xu Ling in danger from his tribulation?"

"She's repressing her breakthrough, and this tribulation is targeting a prodigy that refuses to break through. Without my help, she will begin to break through and trigger her own tribulation, which will be significantly more powerful because of the tribulation that is already occurring. If she doesn't remain in control, she will die."

Xu Feng didn't need to hear anything else. "You have my permission to take my daughter." He cupped his hand and bowed. "Xu Feng thanks Patriarch Lee for his kindness."

Patriarch Lee turned to Tobias. "You should take that pill you're carrying. The emperor's tribulation should provide you with a more powerful transformation when you break through."

The moment Patriarch Lee finished giving his instructions, he and Xu Ling vanished.