Xu Guan sat in a room with his daughter, sweating all over his head and body. He took a cloth to wipe the sweat on his face before setting up the table.
"You need to lose weight," commented Xu Shi. "How can a cultivator be fat?"
"That is a sign of prosperity. Anyway, it does not affect my health or combat ability," rebutted Xu Guan, and he was telling the truth. Unless by choice, preference, or a weird physique, most cultivators are fit because fat is considered an impurity of the body and will be dispelled through the process of cultivation. Nevertheless, some cultivators enjoy looking plump and choose this way as an aesthetic.
"So, what brings you to see me?" asked Xu Shi, deciding not to interfere in her father's choice.
"Do I need a reason to come see my daughter?"
Xu Guan nodded before taking out something from his space ring and handing it to her. She was surprised as she had never seen something –despite her wealth of knowledge.
"What is it? Some kind of shoes?"
"It's called a heel. About a month ago, the Dao Opening Sect began to sell this new and strange footwear. The popularity has reached the point that it's gotten to my radar."
"They looked beautiful," praised Xu Shi before trying them on. "Comfortable, too."
"That's what all the women who tried it said," stated Xu Guan. "According to our commerce's predictions, this industry will soon become another staple business for their sect."
Xu Guan sighed out loud. "Why do these powerful sects keep getting richer? Shouldn't they have enough? They could leave some opportunity for us peasants to struggle."
Xu Shi ignored her father's complaints. The Association of Chamber of Commerce is one of the most wealthy factions of the Myriad Emperor World, ranking top 100. They have not gone up in the ranking because their most potent backing is a Third-Class Strength Insurgent. And the fact they can keep such considerable wealth without trouble is proof of their diplomatic abilities and the connection they've made with different factions.
"Are you going to sell knockoffs of these shoes?" asked Xu Shi. "If you are, you should be careful of the Dao Opening Sect's reaction."
"The original plan was to create a cheap knockoff and sell it in the black market through the unaffiliated business of the Association," replied Xu Guan before gritting his teeth. "However, the plan hadn't even started before ending."
"Did they warn you?" she asked, slightly surprised. When it comes to products such as this one that can be easily copied, most factions will ignore copies as long as they control the primary market.
"They didn't have to," replied Xu Guan, his pouting face somewhat made him adorable. "Someone placed a powerful curse on the very concept of the heel. The knockoffs will spontaneously catch fire if someone else tries to sell it before self-destructing."
"This must be quite the unique curse," analyzed Xu Shi. "If they are willing to go such extreme for this product, then you shouldn't get into this business."
"I know this. I'm worried other people will begin using similar methods for other products."
"You don't have to worry much. How many people do you know can use such a curse? Even if any factions spent years cultivating a Curse Master, they might not reach that level," reassured Xu Shi. She then took out the heels and admired how beautiful the design was. Then, she frowned.
"I know." Xu Guan was aware of this. But he has a business intuition that this method of protecting discoveries or inventions will become more regular in the future. And if that's the case, the Association's commerce will be significantly affected.
"Have you noticed?" he asked.
"Yes. The material on these shoes is terrible. Even if I refined them and added more runes, they would only last a few decades."
"It's done on purpose."
"To sell more shoes!" she instantly realized.
"Yes. They designed the products to last a specific time, forcing people to come back and buy more. Quite the ingenious tactic," elaborated Xu Guan with glistening eyes. "The shoes are even designed to self-destruct if someone tries to modify them."
According to tests done by the Association, only the best Artifact Refiners have the skills to temper with these shoes. However, the material used still limits them.
"Truly ingenious," muttered Xu Shi as she knew who was responsible for this product and all these tactics. She has secretly infiltrated the Dao Opening Sect's Domain, and she was genuinely shocked by the experience.
It was like a completely different place from the rest of the world. The mortal had created a civilization entirely based on puppetry and constructs. They were educated, healthy, well-fed, and generally happy. Cultivators and mortals lived together in harmony.
Xu Shi was greatly surprised by what she saw. The amount of luck the mortals could provide the Dao Opening Sect because of their excellent reputation was at least five times more than any other sect with the same population.
After that visit, she returned to the sect to analyze the root of this vast difference. Xu Shi discovered it was the result of the schools and constructs. After the schools stopped providing other factions with luck, they all stopped and ignored them; the same happened for the constructs. Once the benefit stopped, they returned to the old ways.
But not the Dao Opening Sect. They persevered to the point of allowing the mortals to create another civilization besides cultivation–a civilization with them as the core.
Immediately afterward, she used her power as the next headmaster to copy their model. However, Xu Shi discovered the main thing preventing her from reaching the same success level as the Dao Opening Sect is the inability of the Academy's students and teachers to look at mortals with equality.
Wang Wei faced the same problem in the early development of the sect's Domain. But used his status to persevere, hence today's result. And this has been Xu Shi's plan as well, but there hasn't been any result yet. But she now feared after leaving the Academy, things would return to their original state.
"Enough business talk," said Xu Guan. "Let's enjoy our father-daughter time." He served her some unique tea he had recently received.
"Moments made me wish your mother was still here," sighed Xu Guan. "She would have been proud of your achievements."
"Maybe," replied Xu Shi. Her mother died after giving birth, so one of her father's many concubines raised her. She did not know her mother, but the concubine treated her like her own. So, Xu Shi never lacked motherly's love since she always had a mother.
Suddenly, she felt something was wrong, and before she could react, she fainted on the floor. And not long afterward, a bunch of teachers from the academy appeared in her room.
"She will be fine, right?" asked Xu Guan.
"You don't have to worry," said Song Li. "We will only place her in a powerful illusion where she can experience Lin Fan's life from a third-party perspective. Our objective is to see that although he loved her, it was not to the point where she needed to be obsessed with reviving him."
"It depends on her; whether she is willing to accept this fact."
Xu Guan sighed as he was out of ideas. He tried to talk to her many times about this subject but would be rejected every time. And one time, he tried to involve her mother, and she almost stopped talking to him because of it. As a last result, he had to rely on the Academy's extreme method.
"Shi'er, I'm sorry. But this is for your own good." Xu Guan not only cared about the prospect of his family once his daughter proved the Dao, but he genuinely wanted her to be happy. And Lin Fan has become a roadblock to that happiness.
Moon, Ancient Aristocratic Clans:
Huo Fenghuang opened her eyes, and the power of Innate Laws emanated from her body. She sensed someone outside her room and controlled the formations to allow entry.
"How are things?" asked Huo Ru after saluting his daughter.
"I've awakened three Innate Laws, but the final fusion of all five bloodlines is not complete."
"Were there any issues with the Primordial Dragon's bloodline?"
"No. I've absorbed his Wood and Thunder Laws and fused them with my Sovereign Water Law."
"It was lost in the fusion process," Huo Fenghuang replied with some regret.
"You should be satisfied with two out of three. Have you awakened bloodline memories?"
"Not yet. I'm waiting for the final fusion."
"It's good to be prudent. Here's what happened in the assembly." Huo Ru handed her a talisman that summarized everything that had occurred. After reviewing the information, she frowned:
'Is this why he was chosen instead of me?'
Huo Fenghuang felt Heavenly Dao should have granted her some destiny in this new era because of her desire to change the world for the better. Now, after reviewing the assembly, she understood the reason: her biases. She favored the Ancient Clan too much, and her methods would break the balance of the world.
'So, I should learn from him? Do not give the Ancient Clan too much power–at least on the surface. Learn to compromise and even lose for the sake of the entire world.'
Huo Fenghuang squinted her eyes as she mulled over the future of her clan. Some changes needed to be made.