After almost half an hour of deliberation about his sentencing, the end result was that Geirian was to be executed for 102 counts of premeditated homicide, alongside the other charges mentioned earlier. Even the emperor wouldn’t be able to save him from that, unless he wanted to completely break ties with the international organization that is the Alchemist Association.
If it was just one or two counts, he could, but with over a hundred, even had he been the first prince, he still wouldn’t be spared. Since it was done by an alchemist, to an alchemist, on Association grounds, it was entirely an internal affair, and the emperor had no say in the matter.
However, at the time, I didn’t realize that this seemingly simple matter was going to be the catalyst for the chain of events that would eventually lead to... no, I’ll go sequentially. No spoilers for you!
Later that day, a messenger was sent to the imperial palace, who explained to the first prince, who stood in for the otherwise occupied emperor, what was going to happen to Geirian, and crimes for which he was convicted, as well as delivering an invitation to watch the execution at noon the next day. In the meantime, I went back to my room to recuperate, but... I felt daunted by the task of cleaning the blood from my bed and the floor next to it.
So, I changed to my original form, and made my way into Mia’s room, whereupon I curled up on her bed and fell asleep. I only woke up when she lay down next to me, fully nude. Not that I felt anything from that, at the time, my standards for beauty were still entirely those relating to a feline body. However, I will say that she looked significantly smaller when clothed, in one specific area, if you know what I mean. Anyways, it doesn’t matter right now.
I woke up a bit after sunrise, when Mia knocked into me as she was getting out of bed. I took that as my cue to leave, go to my room, and change back before having breakfast. It was the usual fish, meat, milk, and eggs, but I was a bit cautious of the milk this time. I couldn’t help it, even though I knew there was practically no chance that it’d be poisoned, and even though I’d developed a resistance to that kind of poison. But who’s to say that it wouldn’t be a different one the next time? Right? Yeah... I know, it was a silly, irrational worry.
Breakfast passed without incident, and I went with Grandmaster White to the private courtyard where Geirian was to breathe his last. However, when I got there, I was noticed by Geirian, who sent a death glare towards me. This prompted the man talking with him, who shared enough traits with him for me to recognize him as the first prince, to look at me as well. A few minutes later, the first prince approached me with an ingenuine smile plastered on his face, and he spoke with a voice dripping with sarcasm and barely disguised contempt.
“So... this is the illustrious Master Tama. A pleasure to meet you. I truly must express my sincere gratitude for your role in, ah, bringing the immorality of my younger brother to light”
“I’d be more than happy... to do the same for you... another time. Should the occasion arise”
My voice mirrored his in its incongruity between the words spoken and the tone with which they were said, with the same thinly veiled scorn he displayed towards me. I had no reason to dislike him, until he showed himself as being on the same side as Geirian through his display of prejudice matching Geirian’s opinions of myself and my actions. He didn’t like my tone, and so he humphed as he turned away and left.
“Tama... that wasn’t the best choice of tone. That was the first prince”
“I know. The family resemblance... isn’t hard to spot”
“In that case, you should also know that Geirian is... well, I guess it’d be appropriate to use the past tense now, so... he was a backer of the first prince. The first and third princes, as well as the second princess, are all competing for the title of heir, and Geirian, while not particularly influential himself, was able to bring the support of his mother, and by extension, from his mother’s Ironblood clan, a clan of first-rate warriors, to the first prince’s side, and tip the balance in his favor. Now, that support may vanish, or worse, move to a different side, which would be a significant blow, and quite possibly make him lose to one of his siblings”
“So, in other words... he already hated my guts... and no matter what... I were to say... it wouldn’t change anything... much at all?”
He opened his mouth while raising a finger, then paused, closed his mouth, paused again, and then sighed.
“I suppose you could look at it that way”
[It’s a rather cynical point of view, but you are a cat, after all]
[Oh, now you decide to wake up]
[Look, I was kept awake for two weeks due to the pain transmitted from your body to me. I think I deserved to sleep for a day, if not two or three, after that ordeal. And it’s not like I could’ve tried to distance myself from it, as that would’ve caused you to revert to your original form, which I was sure you didn’t want to happen]
[That’s fine, I’m sorry to have put you through that, but I must ask, where were you for the last two weeks before I got poisoned?]
[...]
That’s what I thought.
“Tama... Tama...”
“Hmm? What?”
“You seemed to space out for a few seconds. Is something the matter?”
“No... Just... thinking about why... I look at the world... the way I do”
“I didn’t take you for the philosophical type. Still, I’d say that you should think about that later, it’s almost noon, so you should pay attention. Notice the first prince’s hands. He’s clenching them so tightly that his knuckles are completely white. I’d wager there’s a decent chance that he makes a scene either before Geirian’s execution, or on his way out of the Association. No, seriously, I’m willing to bet quite a bit on that”
I’m tempted to accept the bet, but... What do I have that would be of value to him, and what do I want from him?
[You’ve got a lot of formulae, why not put one or two on the line?]
[Fair enough, but that still hinges on me thinking of something to get from him?]
[A custom furnace, as opposed to a standard issue one? The one you’ve got is aimed towards those with a lot of spirit without much control over it, while you fit the exact opposite of that description]
That’s a good idea, actually. Let’s go with that.
“I’ll put two formulae... on par with... the Jade Spirit pills... on the line. However, if I win... I’d like to get... a high-grade furnace... with some specific modifications”
“Deal. I look forward to seeing those formulae”
“I look forward to seeing... my new furnace”
We chuckled for a bit, then the clock hit noon, and the bells were rung twelve times. At that moment, Geirian was handed a small vial, and told to drink it. He did so with a stony face, and then proceeded to eat the vial too, keeping eye contact with me as a manic grin blossomed on his bleeding lips filled with shards of broken glass. A minute or so later, without warning, he collapsed, twitched a few times, and then stopped moving completely. Upon hearing the results of a check of Geirian’s vitals, the first prince left without a word, making it all the way out of the Association before he snapped, blasting a large hole in the ground with a stomp of his flame-cloaked foot.
“I think... I win?”
“I think so too. I guess I didn’t give Jcerniv - the first prince - enough credit”
I gave Grandmaster White the specifications I wanted, and then went back to my room to cultivate. Overnight, the bed had gotten replaced, and the blood on the wall and floor was cleaned up. The end of the month was also coming up, so I finished my quota of pills, and looked at the pill list for the next ranking test. I obviously picked the bonus pill, the Jade Spirit pill, and spent a little bit practicing that as well. The test passed uneventfully, and I got third again, this time, Antonius was just one point ahead of Mia, with me two points behind her.
Masters Wang and Chen tied for fourth, with Master Wang getting the higher room due to his seniority. Soon after, I received my new furnace, and it was splendid. It had walls that were better at letting Spirit through, allowing me to use less to get the same effect on the pill. Normally, that’s a bad thing, as it also means the essence of the ingredients had an easier time leaking out, but I was proficient enough with my Spirit control to be able to keep the essence from even reaching the walls, for the most part, rendering that problem moot.
The chamber containing the flame underneath it was more closed off, increasing the heat retention, with the downside of reducing airflow to the flame, which was again not a problem, I could increase airflow myself. It was actually closer to a nine-legged cauldron than a standard alchemical furnace, as the lid was a separate piece, and the sides didn’t have openings, (which are included to allow the alchemist to control heat distribution, and to provide easier access for one’s spirit than manipulating it through the walls), but it still works.
Master was able to use a soup pot for his alchemical experiments, after all, so there shouldn’t be any problem with a cauldron. After practicing with a few batches of various pills, I was able to control the furnace like an extension of my body. I showed it to Master Chen, who was stunned, but not for the reason I expected.
“Tama, that furnace... no... I... How... how is it working for you?”
“Perfectly, it feels... like a part of my body! I can’t believe this is only... a high-grade spirit artifact”
“It’s not. Its functions have mostly been locked, reducing its capabilities down to those of a high-grade spirit artifact. I don’t know what Grandmaster White was thinking, giving you that one”
“Something wrong with it?”
He sighed, opened his mouth, then thought better of whatever he was going to say.
“No, nothing... Just... Good luck. You’ll need it. Oh, and try to refine some pills that are as difficult as you can over the next few days, as many different ones as possible... Maybe then you’ll... ah, nevermind...”
I was confused, of course, but knew enough to be able to understand that he wasn’t particularly willing to share anything about whatever it was that made him act in such a cryptic manner, so I didn’t pry further. I simply took his advice, and spent the next week tirelessly refining successive batches, working on one formula after another. The next week, the ranking ranking test happened, and I moved back down to fourth place. After that point, I chose to take a break from refining pills and spent some time catching up on the news of what happened since I was poisoned.
One of the things I learned was that the Ironblood clan had begun to support the second princess, instead of the first prince. The first prince was more irritable, and people were reporting seeing the Shadows Guild starting to rouse itself from its decades-long inactive slumber. Signups for a new batch of recruits were rumored to be taking place in about half a year, on the third of Minorspring. It was speculated that they felt a need for new blood because two of the three factions had been making use of the Guild, and all three of them were killing and capturing the blood shadows sent after them by the others.
The influential figures of the supporting powers were, for the most part, not skilled or lucky enough to be able to repeatedly thwart such machinations and then capture or kill all of the blood shadows sent after them, so there were a lot of deaths amongst them within that time period, with new ones reported every day. The three factions were losing supporters left and right, with more and more choosing to abstain from the conflict as time went on, although even the neutral ones weren’t safe from the ire of the royals that they used to serve, as well as the ones who used to be their opponents.
Only the second princess’s faction, the smallest and most stable, was able to hold onto most of its supporting powers, mostly due to her putting their safety as one of her top priorities. She wasn’t actively trying to pull any other clans and organizations in, but because she didn’t lose very many of her own in the first place, she didn’t need to do so in order to gain a slight advantage over the other two.
Furthermore, the time for the emperor’s successor to be determined was drawing near, with news that he’d completed his spirit companion’s sixth spirit ring coming two days after Geirian’s execution.
Why is that part relevant, you might ask? It’s because he’s planning to step down once he’s condensed his first spirit wave... well, one could also say he’s planning to step up, in the sense that he’s going to be ascending to the Immortal Realm. The vast majority of spirit companions’ level 60 abilities allow for movement between Realms, hence why you almost never see someone above level 60 here in the Mortal Realm, unless they have a good reason to stay. There’s just not as much ambient spirit to absorb here as in many other Realms, which means cultivation is similarly faster elsewhere.
However, time itself flows faster in the Mortal Realm, so that mostly balances out... until you take lifespans into account. Just because you can cultivate for ten years here in the span of a year in other Realms doesn’t mean that’s better than cultivating eight times as fast elsewhere, because you’re also using up ten times as much of your lifespan in the Mortal Realm. Although, the time dilation is closer to 40 times as fast, with the spirit levels being closer to 35 times higher than the Mortal Realm.
Anyways, I got sidetracked. Unless something goes really wrong, the competition for the position of emperor will end sometime within the next few months. As it stands, the second princess controls a bit over a quarter of the major powers within the empire, while the first and third princes each control about a sixth of the major powers, with the remaining third of them having declared neutrality.
This made the princes understandably uneasy, and as the deadline approached, they began to act desperately. They began to use their own forces to attack those of their rivals, and eventually, the third prince fell to a suicidal gambit by one of the first prince’s chief retainers and close friend.
“So, how long ago was that?”
“News of it got to us last night, though he was found dead the night before. Such direct conflicts between their forces began slightly over a week ago”
“And now... what does this mean... in terms of the power balance?”
Master Antonius sighed, his head dipping down into his upturned palms, before he raised it again to answer.
“I’m not an expert, but I suspect that several of the powers under the late third prince will move to support the second princess, while others will choose to become neutral. However, as I told you earlier, that won’t protect them from the assassins hired by the first prince”
He began to rub his temples with both hands, his expression turning dark as he continued.
“Honestly, I’m worried about what would happen were he to get the throne. He’s hired so many high-ranking blood shadows that even the first prince would have trouble paying for all of them before he ascended to the throne. I suspect the Shadows Guild is supporting him with silent and twisting shadows as well, and accepting the costs themselves so they can turn him into a puppet leader when - well, if - he does end up winning the competition for the crown”
“Twisting shadows? Silent shadows?”
“The Shadows Guild is very mysterious, so nobody knows much about them, but what we do know is that they have a monopoly on three of the main aspects of the underworld: assassinations, which are handled by the blood shadows; intelligence gathering and rumor spreading, the expertise of the silent shadows; and then there are the most well-hidden side, the twisting shadows. Those... they’re puppet masters, basically. They... well, I don’t know what they do, really. That’s the whole reason behind the ‘shadow’ portion of their name”
He’s got a fair point there. One in the light usually wouldn’t be able to see those hiding in the shadows.
“The Guild doesn’t manage the black market, thankfully, nor do they have a hand in the drug trade or human trafficking, but they are a key driver of most of the conflicts between, well... everyone. Just about any bad blood between large groups is either caused by or at least perpetuated by the Shadows Guild"
“I see. So, if they’re backing... Prince Jcerniv... How many people will that bring over... to his side, and how much would that... stir up the neutral factions and... push them towards the second princess?”
“It’ll push a lot of them towards the second princess, if they have any reason to believe that the first prince would consider them a hindrance or threat at any point in the future. However, if they don’t, there’s a good chance they’ll try to ingratiate themselves with him, to build at least an indirect relationship with the Shadows Guild. Speaking of people who he has a grudge against, you’re almost certainly on his hit list”
I guess that means I should stay inside for a while... Well, that’s fine. I don’t have much to do outside of the Association, and I have a few formulae to sell to the grandmasters, and I feel like I’m close to some breakthrough. I probably could have done so earlier, but I took Master Chen’s advice and focused on familiarizing myself with the cauldron.
I poked around, by the way, and learned that it used to have two names, but something during the Dusk of Ages broke both of the nameplates on the pedestal it was on, so could only see part of each. One of them was “N... Major ...a... Pr...g...r Cauldr...” and the other was “V...d C...dron”. I suspect that the last word on each was “Cauldron”. So, for now, I’ll call it the Major Cauldron, but I bet that that name will change when I figure out what’s so special about it, or find some other records about it that mention one or both of its full names.
“Hmm... Everyone just calls it the Broken Cauldron, but you might be onto something. The Dusk of Ages was... truly an unfortunate period of time. So much was lost, so little could be recovered. It’s been almost a thousand years, and not a single person who had witnessed it has come back from the other realms they fled to so far. So... we haven’t had - oh, sorry, you were talking about the Brok- the Major Cauldron” (Antonius)
In case you were wondering why there’s a quote from Master Antonius in my expositing monologue, I was summarizing the massive quantity of information I’d gathered and telling him about my findings. However, I figured you didn’t want to hear my pauses breaking it all up, so I’m giving you an even more condensed version, omitting a lot of details that just didn’t matter at all, and weren’t interesting either, in addition to the questions he asked that I answered.
That included things such as what functions each of the arrays covering every last bit of its surface were theorized to perform, and the specific sizes of the gaps in the name plates. Sure, the latter would be helpful in figuring out the thing’s real names, but you’ll hear that later on in my narrative. I didn’t learn or figure either of those out for... well, several centuries at least. Let’s just leave it at that, shall we?
There was a bit more lore about it too, which included it being able to survive a full-power strike from the level 97 Barbarian Battle Bodhisattva. As a Bodhisattva, he isn’t immortal like the rest of his fellow 10th tiers - though his lifespan is still infinite - as he gave that up as he swore an oath to give aid to those who cannot aid themselves, to rid his body and soul of all impurities. That was done by cleansing himself with karma for ten thousand years.
He also has the Battling Barbarian path, which has its own positives and negatives. The positives include an insane recovery speed, as well as raw strength, speed, and defensive capabilities well beyond what a normal person of that cultivation level would have. The drawback is that any impurities in the person’s heart would grow the more the person used that path, eventually getting them corrupted by malice and turning them into an evil being.
However, he’s a Bodhisattva. There aren’t enough impurities in his heart for it to grow. So, constant increases to speed, strength, defence, and regeneration for free, as well as an almost limitless rate of absorbing Spirit due to his oath. He also has an increased affinity towards buffing and healing skills from the Bodhisattva portion, so he could heal whoever needed healing, without stopping to think if he could afford to spend the Spirit that’d cost.
Even an amount that, for him, could be recovered within a minute or two of just standing around or walking away, would probably take more like 10 minutes of meditation for other 10th-tier immortals to get back to full. Now, often, an immortal wouldn’t care either, but a dying person above level 50 would still take a substantial amount of spirit to heal if it wasn’t aided by pills or healing herbs.
“Oh, I got sidetracked, once again. Sorry”
“That you did. Still, it gives me a chance to ask a question. Is being a Bodhisattva common?”
“No. Not at all. Less than one percent of those... with a chance to become an immortal... would willingly choose to remain mortal... unless they have a great need... to cleanse their body... or their soul, or both”
Anyways, the Major Cauldron is generally regarded as indestructible under ordinary circumstances, and even most extraordinary ones, but it still has some missing pieces from when it was shattered somehow, and it can’t be stored in any spatial ring or dimensional bag for some unknown reason. That wasn’t a problem for me, however. As it didn’t have a will of its own, at least, none that I could tell, it couldn’t resist getting put into my void spirit realm.
The remaining missing pieces sum up to three of its nine legs, half of the lid’s handle, and a small chunk of the flame chamber’s wall. That last one is actually the most problematic portion of the damage, as some of the arrays covering the majority of the cauldron’s exterior surface are now broken because that piece isn’t there. However, from what I’ve gathered, there used to be several dozen other missing pieces that have been gathered over the years. It seems as though one can use a piece, the main, functional one included, to guide you to other pieces scattered throughout the Nine Realms.
However, the integration of two pieces requires a large amount of time, hence why the main portion always ends up back in the Mortal Realm where time flows faster. A leg, for instance, would take a few thousand years to reattach, though only a few weeks of that requires any level of hands-on work. The rest of the time is just spent waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more. The notes mentioned that there were three pieces where the location was vaguely known, at least, where they were when the main piece ended up here last. Two are, or were, somewhere within the Immortal Realm, and one in the Major Realm of Fire.
“Will you try to continue repairing it?”
“I’ve got time, I’ll look for them... eventually. Not right now, obviously. I can’t shift between realms yet. Not even close... actually, without a spirit companion... I don’t know how one could. Realm shifting is the skill that... most companions give you... when you reach level 61”
“So, even if you got that far, you still couldn’t?”
“I can’t rule out the possibility... that I’d find an alternate method. After all, I managed to reach... tier 2, despite my void spirit realm”
“Good point. There’s probably a few spirit artifacts that allow those under tier 7 to leave their original realm, so maybe you’d find one of those. Oh, right. You said most companions give such a skill?”
“Yeah. Some don’t. Master’s spirit companion, a continental crusher... did not do so. That’s why, even after level 61... he remained in the Mortal Realm. He couldn’t leave. Maybe if he could’ve... he would’ve been able to break through... into tier 9, and then lived long enough... to create his own path to immortality”
As I said that last word, the glass window next to me shattered, and an arrow embedded itself in my collarbone, barely a centimeter shy of going through my neck instead, with pain suddenly blossoming around it a few seconds later. In that time, Master Antonius leapt to his feet, but I tackled him to the floor as another arrow whizzed through the air where his jugular was a split second before. As I was above him, I was hit by the next two arrows, one impaling my right lung, the other drawing a line of blood across my lower back and spine.
I released the three meter tall, two meter wide cauldron from my void spirit realm, as an indestructible shield positioned between the window and my body. Two arrows struck it in quick succession, but all that accomplished was the creation of a sharp metallic noise and a pair of arrows falling to the floor, completely intact save for their tips now being blunted.
“Tama? Oh gods! Hang on, let me pull-”
“No. Don’t. I’ll only lose blood faster. Look at the other arrows, under the cauldron. They’re b-barbed. Get-geh-g-”
“Tama! Don’t die! Stay with me! Tama!”
I couldn’t get out the words I wanted to say, because I coughed out the blood filling my punctured lung, and did so whenever I tried to speak. Instead, I had to use telepathy to tell him what to do as I lay on my left side.
[Relax! Get a Life Lotus pill - no, three of them - that are at least 60% purity, and a suture vine’s leaf. Not the vine itself, just the leaf. Make sure it’s still green. Hot water too. A filled teapot should be enough. Non-medicinal tea would be acceptable in place of water, but raise the pills to 65% or higher. Go! Stay out of sight of the east-facing windows next to the wall, the sniper might still be there]
He ran out of the room, keeping the cauldron where it was blocking the hole where the window was. Two minutes of agonized waiting - and a coughed out puddle of blood - later, he was back, a steaming pot of tea in his hands, and one of the Grandmasters from Geirian’s trial following behind him.
“Now what?”
[Shred the leaf, and put it all into the water, except for the stem and midrib. Wait for at least thirty seconds, no more than forty, and then put the pills in]
He did so, tapping the floor as he counted out the seconds, and then, once the pills were in, he watched as they almost immediately dissolved and the tea thickened somewhat, to a consistency similar to cake batter. Thin enough to be poured out of the teapot’s spout, but only barely.
[Now, pour a bit onto my wound, spread it all the way around the arrow, coating an area at least one and a half centimeters from the arrow in every direction. Wait a few seconds, then rip the arrow out. As soon as it’s out, pour even more into the wound. Then put pressure on it for fifteen to twenty seconds. Do it!]
“It’ll hurt like hell, you know. If I were to cut it out, it-”
As he spoke, I felt the mixture being spread around the arrow in my side, but I still had to urge him to go faster. The art of screaming mentally is not an easy one to learn, but somehow I instantly picked it up out of necessity.
[I know! Just do it now! I haven’t been able to breathe for over a minute now, too much blood in my lungs. I can’t open my mouth without vomiting blood. The sooner that wound is healed, the sooner I’ll be able to take an antitoxin pill. These arrows are poisoned]
“Shit! Sorry! Okay, ready? Five, four-”
[ThreetwooneZERO!]
He stopped counting and just yanked it out, blood spraying into the air as a chunk of flesh came out stuck to the arrowhead. I screamed, but it became a gurgle because of the mouthful of blood that came out with it. The pain was intense, and the heat of the mixture flowing into the gaping hole, as well as the pressure of most of his body leaning onto my wound, barely registered to me in my semi-conscious state.
I only barely noticed him doing the same for the arrow in my collarbone. That one wasn’t lodged in particularly deep, as it hit bone immediately after breaking the skin. After both arrows were set aside, I told Master Antonius to turn me face down, my head below my waist, and then pull up on my chest from behind. He did, and a large volume of thick, sticky, black blood poured out of my mouth.
I weakly moved my hand to the side, which he grabbed, discovering the pill it held within. After I finished coughing out what felt like a small lake of that blood, I was rolled onto my back and had the pill literally shoved down my throat. Of course, I knew it wouldn’t be enough.
By that point, the poison had been able to spread throughout my body for so long that my heart had almost stopped beating, and my lungs were completely paralyzed. There was no chance I’d survive, so instead of a pill used to provide a resistance to poisons, I had them use one that would clean my body of any poisonous substances left within.
It meant that, while I did die, I was alive and awake again within half an hour, and was fully healed about two hours after that. They didn’t even notice my death, presumably because they were engrossed in the discussion I heard part of as I woke up.
“... ceases to amaze. I’m glad I followed you. Do you know how surprised I was when I saw you race through the hall, then double back to grab my tea with barely an apology and no explanation?”
“I’d imagine much more than you let show. But yes, I too was shocked by Tama being able to turn a completed pill into a salve like that”
“You don’t know the half of it. Suture vine leaves are notorious for turning anything they’re added to into a poison pill, if they don’t make it completely fail to take form”
“Then, based on the parts he had me remove, I’d imagine that the poison is in the stem and midrib, while the destabilization is an effect from the remainder of the leaf”
The Grandmaster gained a ponderous expression at that, but Master Antonius continued talking.
“Still, I’m impressed you managed to avoid chucking your lunch when I pulled that arrow out and-”
“Urgh, don’t remind me... I feel queasy just thinking about it”
“Hey, you held it in this time, when you were there in person, that’s more than you can say about that time when you threw up just from hearing Tama talk about - oh, sorry”
I imagine Master Antonius noticed that the Grandmaster’s face was starting to look green, but I couldn’t see if his face was actually changing color, since he had turned away from me in his search for something to catch his vomit, were it to come out. It didn’t, but what I heard was enough to make me realize where I was recognizing him from. He was the one whose stomach couldn’t handle the vivid description I gave of my deaths during Geirian’s trial.
“Thank you... still, this opens up the possibility of destabilizing impure pills and then purifying them further, instead of just writing the materials off as a loss”
[Nope. I mean, you could, but... it’s terribly difficult, time consuming, and overall, just not worth it]
They both jumped a bit when they heard my voice, Antonius just because he wasn’t expecting it, while the Grandmaster could also have been because he might not have known I could use telepathy. Well, he should’ve figured it out from Antonius’s otherwise one-sided dialogue with me.
“Oh, you’re awake! I’ve got several questions for you right now, and even more got added when you said that, but... why don’t you elaborate on that statement as the first thing? Why is it infeasible?”
[You’d need three 40% pills to make a single 50% pill, if you were able to do it perfectly. Not to mention, you’d also need to add in a stabilizing agent to even be able to form it back into a pill. That’s why I specified a Life Lotus pill, since it’s the only commonly-made healing pill that requires a stabilizing agent... well, the only one that I know is made here, at any rate]
I crawled a short distance to where I could reach out and grab one of the arrows that hit my impromptu shield, then brought it closer to me, so that I could inspect it better.
“These arrows were coated... in a thin, but sticky... greenish purple colored poison. Smells like it’s plant-based. The design of the head... is truly fiendish. When it’s pulled out... small spikes break open... releasing even more poison. The shaft... is just ordinary birch wood. The fletching... cockatrice feathers”
“The one who shot those arrows was a professional. He aimed for the neck whenever possible, and if he couldn’t, he aimed for the heart. Furthermore, his aim was still almost perfect even though he was breaking a glass window with that same shot”
“Now, who was his target? And why was he targeting one of you?”
I wordlessly pointed at myself in reply to his first question, which prompted Antonius to answer the second question.
“He was probably hired by someone to kill Tama. That someone obviously didn’t know just how hard it is to keep Tama dead, so he couldn’t have been directly involved in Geirian’s case, as those who were are aware of Tama’s lifesaving, uh... artifact? Whatever it is, the client doesn’t know about it. However, so far as I know, the only two incidents where Tama has antagonized someone to the point of them wanting him dead were when he blacklisted Adon, and when he was the catalyst for the chain of events leading to Geirian’s death, and the changes that his death set in motion”
“Hmm... In the former case, Adon would’ve been the culprit, but he probably doesn’t have the money or the standing to hire this level of assassin. So, we can rule him out, for now, at least. That leaves those negatively affected by Geirian’s death. Those people are all in the first prince’s camp, or dead. The only one we know knows enough to pin it on Tama is the first prince himself, so he’s the most likely suspect at the moment. There’s not much we can do about that, honestly”
I smiled grimly because I couldn’t refute his statement, but I still chose to share my opinion on the subject.
“Then again, it’s not like... there’s much of a chance that... he could kill me either. It’s a stalemate, and I think... that hiring assassins capable enough... to try killing someone here... on Association grounds, is not cheap. He’s going to waste lots of money... until he gives up on taking my life”
“But there’s always a chance your protection could fail”
“Listen, I know what all is able... to truly kill me. If he has the money... to get that and use it on me... he could’ve taken over the empire... even without the emperor... abdicating his position. An assassin strong enough to have... such means at his disposal... could kill the emperor with a fart”
“What is needed?”
“Grandmaster Miles, there’s no reason for either of us to need to know that information”
So, this Grandmaster’s name is Miles. That’ll make it easier to remember him, I think.
“Since Tama is carefully avoiding giving any indication of what it is, he obviously doesn’t want to tell anyone. I think we know all we need to know, which is that whatever it is is as rare as, if not rarer than, phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Therefore, it’s safe to say that he’s as good as immortal”
I mean, Master Antonius wasn’t wrong. He didn’t know just how accurate that statement was.
“I suppose. Now, the more pressing matter... do you think the assassin is still there, or is it safe to move out from behind the Broken Cauldron?”
“He’s after me, so... if I poke my head out... either he’d shoot me... or it’d be safe to stop hiding”
I did just that before they could protest, and nothing happened. No arrow sprouting from my forehead, nothing. I put away the Major Cauldron, and... realized I made a mistake.
“Wait, what happened? Where did the Broken Cauldron go? Actually, now that I think about it, why was it here in the first place?”
“Ah... shit. Uh...”
“You’re right, I was so caught up in the situation of there being someone trying to kill us that I didn’t notice how strange it was that Tama could make the Bro- the Major Cauldron appear to use it as a shield. It can’t go in a spatial ring, so how could Tama bring it around with him?”
“I... uh... well, whatever. A void spirit realm... can function like a spatial ring... to some extent. It has a smaller space within... but it can take in anything... without a soul or functional item spirit... regardless of rank... at least, so far as I can tell”
The conversation shifted towards what I could do with that, but I wasn’t really listening, instead spending my time thinking about how I could support the second princess, since I really didn’t want the first prince on the throne. Of course, I changed into a new set of casual clothing, since my previous set of robes was stained with blood and the tea-turned-salve, as well as sporting two large holes where they’d been ripped open to provide full access to the arrows I’d been hit by, and a small rip in back from the arrow that grazed me.
It cant be taken into White Bear Glove? Can it be damaged by the Black Bear Glove? ;)
I get that reference
I just noticed that I hadn't responded to this comment, oops. No, even if the Black Bear Glove existed, it'd be an Ancestral Spirit Treasure like the White Bear Glove, so this cauldron cannot be damaged by that artifact, nor any others of that grade, or even the grade above.
Spoilers for, uh, worldbuilding mostly:
To be specific, it can't be damaged by any grade of artifact, even the three Origin Spirit Treasures (which created the nine realms, the Primordial and Ancestral Spirit Treasures, and all living beings), nor by any peak expert that has ever lived, not even the Azure Thearch and Wood Sovereign, who're widely considered to be the top two experts to have ever existed, which makes one wonder what could possibly have managed to make it shatter to the extent it had once been fragmented.
Answer to the question asked at the end of the previous spoiler, containing with it a small plot spoiler regarding the timing of a rather predictable eventuality being few books in the future and more worldbuilding spoilers:
The answer is pretty simple, it shattered because it overused its power and forcibly tried to refine a certain realm it shouldn't have tried doing that to. Yes, it attempted to refine an entire realm. I won't say if it succeeded or not, nor if this was the first time it refined a realm, nor if it tried refining a major or minor realm in this particular case, but... I will say, the thing is powerful when complete and in the hands of someone who can fully unleash its powers, but it won't be complete for a few books at least, not until Book IV at least, and even in book VII Tama won't be capable of fully using it. I guess I did also just spoil that it'll stick with Tama for a while lol... even broken it's a damn good cauldron if you can deal with its peculiarities in that regard
Actually, you know what, another miniscule spoiler, about its names but not including its names:
Its names (the fragmented ones on those nameplates) sound pretentious (like the names of oh so many Artificial Spirit Treasures, such as the Universe Refining Phoenix Cauldron and the Realm Shaking Saber) but are if anything underplaying it.
In case you couldn't tell, I like sharing lore wherever I can without actually spoiling anything significant.
As it stands, the second princess controls a bit over a quarter of the major powers within the empire, while the first and third princes each control about a sixth of the major powers, with the remaining third of them having declared neutrality.
Just a quick heads up here 1/4+1/6+1/6+1/3=11/12 so changing from "about a sixth of the major powers" to "a bit more than a sixth of the major powers" would probably be closer to what you want if the princess has a third that also works, but then she has as much as the other 2 combined so I don't know if you want to do that.
All three factions were explicitly rough estimates. "About a sixth" could be more or less than that 16% or so, over a quarter could be anywhere from 25% to like 30%, and even the "remaining third" is pretty likely to be an approximation given the context. All in all, this showed the ratios more than anything else... and besides, as the next paragraph showed, that distribution wouldn't last for long.
Preety good. I added it to my favorites