“I didn’t do anything!” Gray protested.

The two of them gave him looks with varying degrees of doubt. He tried to put on an innocent face but they didn’t buy it.

He sighed and spun a tale that was half true and half fiction. He described how he was on a peaceful nighttime stroll when he stumbled upon the mining pit of the Southern Seas Mining Company. He didn’t reveal any details about his intentions and merely explained how the foreman was a violent and unreasonable person.

“The man came at me like a mad beast, exactly like those back in the mountains,” Gray said. “He threatened to break my legs and then flay me to death. I was forced to fight to stay alive. I got seriously beat up, look!”

He pulled up his tunic to reveal a wide belly with numerous purple bruises.

Alisha quickly turned away and held a hand to her face to block the sight, "Stop, fine. You can pull that down!"

He did so and she continued, "You don't have to worry since the Southern Seas don't have any proof except for a foreman with a broken jaw. So unless you actually confess, the lord won't do anything since it would be difficult to explain how someone at the sixth level of strengthening lost to a third level.”

“Uh… right… I was just lucky. That foreman was really out of shape and he was also drunk!” Gray said.

Anand laughed, "Relax, Gray. Being able to defeat those of a higher level than you isn't unheard of in the cultivation world. It simply shows that you have much better talent than the cultivators here in the frontier. It’s more common than you might think, especially down south with the great sects and spiritual schools.”

Gray was relieved. The last thing he wanted was people questioning his abnormal physique.

“By the way, what kind of sects are those? Are they strong?” He asked.

Instead of Anand, it was Alisha who replied with a long and convoluted explanation about the four great sects of the Rising Sea Kingdom. Among scores of cultivation sects, these four stood atop them all as the undisputed leaders. They were great powers and intricately tied to the political structure of the land, especially with the nobility. All of the noble families sent their children to these four sects, with certain preferences and legacies causing factions, rivalries, and conflicts. It was a vast mess of interconnected relationships, marriage alliances, disciples, elders, and even a few sect masters thrown into the mix.

Gray was mildly surprised by Alisha's knowledge and enthusiasm for the topic. But he soon lost interest after learning that while the four sects were great in the Rising Sea Kingdom, they were still considered ants in the wider cultivation world. Their strongest members weren’t even able to reach the Spiritual Sky Realm, with the Spirit Impulse Realm being the limit of their secret arts and methods. They were insignificant compared to a world-shaking power like the Fortune Sect where Spiritual Sky Realms cultivators were so numerous, they could cover the sky.

His eyelids drooped uncontrollably and he was about to doze off when he felt the familiar prodding of a finger.

“Huh? What?” He blurted.

"You shouldn’t ignore the four great sects." Alisha said, "Even if your ultimate goal is the Fortune Sect, joining another sect beforehand will still help you greatly. There’s no rule against that and you can learn about all sorts of things. They’ll even teach you how to read.”

“I don't...” He tried to argue but she cut him off.

“Even if you don’t want to learn how to read, there is still one critical benefit that will interest you. If you join a sect and can become what’s known as an inner court disciple, you’ll automatically be awarded citizenship in the kingdom.”

Gray perked up. He had to be a citizen of the kingdom to enter New Ocean City and find a ship going in the direction of the Fortune Sect. That was exactly what he needed.

“How can I become an inner court disciple?” He asked eagerly.

“It’s difficult.” Alisha said, “The way you are now, pretty much impossible.”

“Why! I’m very strong!”

“I’m sure you are. Since you weren’t listening, I’ll explain it again. The four great sects are playgrounds for noble families. Almost all inner court disciples are members of the nobility in some way or another. Even if they don't start that way, they almost always join one eventually.”

“But I don’t want to,” Gray said flatly.

Alisha frowned and her voice dropped low, “You can refuse but you’ll be isolated and bullied. You’ll have no friends or allies, nobody to call on for help when trouble inevitably finds you. Everybody joins a family, those that don’t… don’t survive.”

A dark expression came over her face as if overtaken by painful memories. She fell silent and it was Anand who spoke up.

“But it’s not quite that bad. There's another way. If you don’t want to join a noble family, you just have to have a lot of money. You can be like the Southern Seas Trading Company, an independent power. As far as I know, it doesn’t answer to anyone, even the royal family. It can wield tremendous influence because it simply has too much money. It has stakes in all sorts of economic activity across the kingdom. As they like to say, might is right but money makes might.”

“How much money do I need?” Gray asked, almost dreading the answer.

The old man shrugged, “Your little pile of gold is too pitiful. You will need a hundred times that amount to join a great sect and not get kicked out in a month.”

“Oh…” Gray muttered and fell silent.

One month ago, a thousand gold coins was an unimaginable fortune. Now, he needed over a hundred thousand gold simply to join some low-class sect in a feeble kingdom. He felt as if the heavens were somehow conspiring to stop him from seeing Xueling again. 

He had to find a way to earn a hundred thousand gold coins in a short time. Eight months had passed since she left him. There were now only four years and four months until the promised date when he had to reach the 1st Level of the Spiritual Impulse Realm and arrive at the Fortune Sect.

“Gray.” Anand said, getting his attention, “Let’s move onto more casual things. We didn’t expect you back so our kitchen is rather empty. Since you’re not doing anything right now, go accompany Alisha and help her do some grocery shopping.”

“Father!” Alisha cried, clearly unwilling.

“Why?” Gray asked, also unwilling.

“Alisha, shush. Gray, come on now. You eat three times as much as a normal person so you can’t expect her to do all the work to feed you!” The elder Patel said and pushed them out the door, “Plus, it wasn’t even my idea. She wanted you to help her.”

“She did?”

“No, I didn’t!”