The spirit boat touched down at what Quan called the Immortal Alliance Plaza, and Alexei's jaw dropped.
He'd thought the structures in the center of the plaza were buildings, maybe administrative offices or pavilions or something. Only when they got closer did he realize they were spirit boats. They were massive, more like luxury cruise ships compared to the fishing boat they had been riding.
He looked down at their vessel, then back at the floating palaces in the plaza center.
"Well, shit," he muttered.
Yan noticed his expression and smiled slightly. "Those aren't something ordinary sects can afford. The three largest ones belong to the Immortal Alliance itself. They only get activated for major events, like the Grand Tournament or mass evacuations."
She pointed to one with carvings along its hull. "That one with all the floral relief work? That's Hundred Flowers Valley's flagship. They're the wealthiest sect in the Eastern Territories."
Her finger shifted to another vessel that seemed to glow with its own light. "And that eyesore belongs to Celestial Path Sect. Currently the most powerful sect in the region, in case the ostentatious display wasn't clear enough. Right now, there aren't many boats here yet. But when we leave after the recruitment ceremony, this entire plaza will be packed with vessels from every sect in the Territories."
Alexei blinked. "The entire plaza?"
From the air, the plaza had looked enormous, at least ten square kilometers of open space.
"You think I'm exaggerating?" Yan's smile widened slightly. "This is actually small-scale. If you ever get a chance to see a major gathering, you'd understand how minor this is."
The group disembarked onto the plaza proper, and Alexei immediately noticed they were attracting attention. People were staring. Not subtly, either. Cultivators from various sects, merchants, officials, all of them kept glancing in their direction as the group walked past.
More specifically, they were staring at him.
At first, he thought maybe it was the pink sword strapped to his back. Then he realized most of the onlookers were examining him, like they were appraising merchandise.
Several groups seemed ready to approach before apparently sensing something that made them reconsider. Probably Duan and Quan's cultivation levels, both of them radiated enough power that weaker sects wisely kept their distance.
But the stronger sects? They kept staring.
Two elderly cultivators who'd just disembarked from one of the massive spirit boats were having a quiet conversation as they fixed their gazes on Alexei.
"...unusual coloring, clear spiritual energy flow, appears untainted by inferior techniques..." one of them murmured, just loud enough for enhanced cultivator hearing to pick up. "Pity he's already claimed by a sect."
The other elder nodded regretfully. "Indeed. It is rare to see someone with such natural potential. Even though he is older than most who begin the path of cultivation, he would have made an excellent recruit."
They looked away after a moment, apparently too dignified to pursue the matter further. But plenty of other sects didn't share that restraint. Alexei caught sight of several groups dispatching messengers, planning to make inquiries about him later.
"Why is everyone staring?" he asked Qingxue with a low voice. "It's getting creepy."
Qingxue and Yan moved slightly closer, subtly positioning themselves to block some of the sight lines.
"They're interested in recruiting you," Qingxue said simply. "Ignore them."
"Poaching attempts," Yan added dryly. "It happens. We have lost disciples to larger factions before, and more than once. That is why, after several centuries, our sect is down to a few members."
Well, that was depressing.
"Can they do that? Just... steal disciples?"
"Not directly," Yan replied. "But they can make offers. They promise better resources, stronger techniques, and faster advancement. For ambitious cultivators, it is tempting."
Alexei frowned. "That's kind of shitty."
"Welcome to cultivation politics," Yan said. "It's all shitty, all the way down."
They left the plaza and took to the air on flying swords again. Since Aureate Summit Sect wasn't officially ranked, the Immortal Alliance wouldn't provide accommodations, they had to find their own lodging.
Alexei found himself riding behind Qingxue again, arms wrapped around her waist for stability as they flew over the city. From this height, the Immortal Alliance's compound looked enormous, easily the size of a small town back on Earth, with multiple buildings, training grounds, and administrative centers.
After about thirty minutes of flight, Quan led them to a fairly upscale inn on the edge of the merchant district.
"We've stayed here before," he mentioned as they descended. "The owner's reliable."
The inn's lobby was spacious and well-maintained, with polished wood floors and decorative scrolls on the walls. A middle-aged man sat behind the main desk, reviewing ledgers.
When their group entered, he looked up, and his expression immediately shifted from professional courtesy to delight. Not at seeing Quan or Duan, who'd apparently stayed here multiple times.
His attention locked onto Yan.
"Yan!" The innkeeper leaped to his feet, shoving aside a confused attendant to greet them personally. His face split into a massive grin. "You've returned for another recruitment ceremony! Of course I have rooms, please, everyone, come upstairs!"
Everyone else in the group exchanged glances.
Quan's eye twitched. "Are you serious right now?"
The innkeeper blinked, confused by the reaction.
"I've stayed at this inn for every recruitment ceremony for the past forty years," Quan said flatly. "I book the rooms, pay the fees, and tip generously. And you don't even recognize me."
"...sorry, who are you again?"
Duan snorted, trying not to laugh.
"How do you know him?" Alexei asked Yan quietly.
She shook her head, looking puzzled. "I've stayed here with other sect members maybe twenty times over the years. I don't remember this man at all."
The innkeeper, leading them up the stairs, stumbled slightly.
"I was six years old when I first saw you," he said, glancing back with an almost wistful expression. "I'm sixty-five now. Time doesn't spare anyone, does it?"
He paused on the landing, seeming to gather his thoughts. "You probably don't remember this, but two hundred and thirty years ago, when this inn was first established, my great-great-great-grandfather was poisoned by a rival merchant. No healer could save him. You happened to be passing through, noticed the commotion, and... well, you saved his life. Without your intervention, the Silverwood Inn wouldn't exist today. Our family decided back then that we'd always keep the best rooms available for you, no matter what. It's the least we can do."
Yan frowned slightly, trying to recall the incident. "I honestly don't remember saving anyone here..."
"It was a long time ago. And I imagine it wasn't particularly memorable for you." The innkeeper smiled. "But for us, it meant everything."
He led them to the top floor and began opening rooms. "I have five suites prepared—"
"Four is enough," Yan interrupted gently.
The innkeeper paused, then nodded and backed away with a respectful bow. "Of course. If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to call for me."
He left with surprising energy for a man in his sixties, practically bouncing down the stairs.
"He understands boundaries," Yan said once the innkeeper was gone. "That already puts him ahead of most mortals who get help from cultivators and then spend the rest of their lives trying to cash in on it."
Quan nodded. "True enough. Most people view a life-saving favor as something we owe them eternally. He understands it was just a passing gesture."
Which, Alexei reflected, was pretty mercenary when you thought about it. But probably realistic. From a cultivator's perspective, saving some random mortal probably did rank somewhere below "remembered to eat breakfast" on the significance scale.
"Wait," he said, looking at the four rooms. "How are we splitting this? There's six of us."
"Simple enough," Quan said, already moving toward one of the doors. "Yan and Qingxue take one room. I'll take another. Duan gets the third. You and Jianqiang share the fourth."
Alexei nodded.
Jianqiang clapped him on the shoulder. "Try not to snore. I'm a light sleeper."
"I don't snore. Probably."
"We'll find out tonight, won't we?"
Yan and Qingxue had already disappeared into their suite. Duan headed for his room with a tired wave. Quan paused at his door.
"We'll rest today," he announced. "Tomorrow we split up and begin recruitment work in earnest."
Alexei followed Jianqiang into their room.
---
The room Alexei shared with Jianqiang was spacious enough, about sixty square meters, with traditional furnishings. Two beds sat on opposite sides of the room, each with clean bedding. A small table and chairs occupied the center, and there was even a private bathroom tucked into one corner.
Not bad, all things considered.
Jianqiang immediately claimed the bed closer to the window, tossing his pack onto it. He sat down heavily, then bounced once.
"Huh. Not bad. Better than the sect beds."
Alexei glanced at his own bed, then back at Jianqiang. "What's wrong with the sect beds?"
"Nothing's wrong with them. They're just basic straw mattresses. Decent enough if you're used to them." Jianqiang stretched out, testing the inn's bedding. "These have padding. Probably goose down, or something fancy like that."
That seemed weird to Alexei. He had been sleeping on his MC bed and had simply assumed everyone else used something similar
"You don't have regular mattresses?"
"Regular?" Jianqiang snorted. "Most cultivators sleep on whatever they can get. Straw, cotton if you're lucky, sometimes just a bedroll on the floor. You think poor sects waste money on fancy bedding?" He paused, studying Alexei with mild curiosity. "What have you been sleeping on?"
"A normal bed."
"Oh... Anyway, tomorrow we're doing recruitment duty, which means walking around all day watching kids get their hopes crushed. Then we come back here, sleep in these fancy beds, and do it all over again until we find someone worth bringing back." He rolled onto his side, facing the wall.
Within a few minutes, his breathing evened out into soft snores.
Alexei lay back on his own bed. It was fine, and certainly better than sleeping on the ground. Even so, compared to his bed, it felt noticeably inferior. The padding was uneven, and the fabric was slightly scratchy against his skin. His bed at the sect had been perfectly balanced, offering exactly the right firmness and support, and it was never too hot or too cold. This inn bed was ordinary by comparison.
Good enough for sleeping, but nothing special. He'd gotten spoiled by game mechanics, apparently. Still, he wasn't about to complain. At least it wasn't a bedroll on a stone floor. He let exhaustion pull him toward sleep, already missing his perfect mattress.
----------
[POV: Yi Mengyao]
At the Steadyroot Company compound, Mengyao sat among dozens of other children in a large reception hall, trying very hard to look inconspicuous.
It wasn't working.
Because standing at the front of the hall, wearing the white robes of Celestial Path Sect, was someone she had desperately hoped never to see again in this lifetime.
Her junior martial sister, Li Yan'er.
A middle-aged merchant in expensive robes was bowing and scraping before the young cultivators. "These are all the children we've received for this recruitment period. I hope you'll find who you're looking for among them."
The young man at the head of the Celestial Path Sect group glanced at the delicate girl beside him, deferring to her judgment. Mengyao recognized him at once. He was her former eldest martial brother, though in this timeline he had yet to meet her.
Mengyao's understood immediately.
This isn't a coincidence.
In her previous life, her junior sister and eldest martial brother had never come to Verdantree City for recruitment. They'd gone to Obsidian Ridge instead.
Which meant her junior sister had also been reborn. It had to be the case. There was no other explanation for such a change
It wasn't her eldest martial brother who'd reincarnated, he was the one who'd recruited her into the sect in her first life. If he remembered, he'd recognize her immediately despite her current appearance.
But her junior sister? In the original timeline, she hadn't joined Celestial Path Sect until five months from now. If she'd been reborn with knowledge of the future, she'd know exactly when and where to find her, or rather, Yi Chunhua, her birth name, before she joined any sect.
She's looking for me. She wants to recruit me early, probably to control how my talent develops. Or to prevent me from becoming a threat.
Mengyao kept her head down, doing her best to blend in with the other children. She'd deliberately kept herself looking shabby. Even after the bath yesterday, she still looked thin and underfed compared to the merchant children whose families had paid for their recruitment opportunities.
Nobody would connect this scrawny orphan girl with the future Ninth Disciple of Celestial Path Sect, who in the original timeline had been polished, well-fed, and radiating spiritual energy by the time she officially joined.
Yan'er stepped forward with a gentle smile.
"I'm looking for a girl named Yi Chunhua," she said with a sweet and clear voice. "Does anyone here know her?"
The other children looked at each other. Most of them were from different villages and towns, thrown together by circumstances. They didn't know each other's names.
Mengyao certainly wasn't about to volunteer the information.
Several awkward seconds passed in silence.
Yan'er's expression shifted to disappointment, her eyes glistening as if on the verge of tears.
"Oh no... I was so sure..." Her voice trembled. "Perhaps we should check the other merchant houses?"
The young man in white nodded, already turning toward the door. He tossed a heavy pouch onto the merchant's table without looking back. "For your trouble and time."
"Thank you, thank you!" The merchant bowed so low he nearly prostrated himself.
Yan'er hurried after the young man, reaching out to clutch his sleeve with both hands. "Wait for me!"
The Celestial Path Sect cultivators swept out of the hall. The moment they were gone, everyone in the room exhaled.
"Finally, they're gone," someone muttered.
The middle-aged merchant wiped sweat from his brow. "Having the number one sect visit is an honor, but cultivators are dangerous..."
Mengyao knew it was true. Mortal martial artists at least followed codes of honor. They were bound by imperial law and needed justifications before taking a life.
Cultivators did not. They could murder you over almost anything. It might be an herb you picked that they wanted. It might be a technique manual you inherited, or an antique you did not even know was valuable. Sometimes, it was as simple as looking at them the wrong way on a bad day.
And if you were lucky enough to only get "lightly punished"? That meant days of excruciating pain from injected spiritual energy, or broken bones that would never heal properly.
The cultivation world was beautiful on the surface and rotten underneath.
Just like Yan'er.
"Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a daughter like that?" a woman's voice said from behind her.
Mengyao jerked slightly, pulled from her thoughts. She turned to find Chu Hongyan, the elegant merchant's wife who'd been assigned to look after the girls, smiling down at her.
"Don't you think so?"
Mengyao forced a smile. "You are still young. If you want a cute daughter, you could just have one yourself. Asking me won't help."
Hongyan laughed. "You're such a clever girl."
Over the past two days, the woman had taken an interest in her. According to a guard, Mengyao had been found on the roadside and hadn't undergone any spirit-root testing yet.
Hongyan had apparently been considering keeping Mengyao as an adopted daughter if she turned out to lack cultivation talent.
Which was... complicated.
In her previous life, something similar had happened. Hongyan had shown the same interest. But Mengyao had been too focused on cultivation back then to notice anything. Now, with an adult's mind, she recognized the look in the woman's eyes for what it was. She wants a child of her own but can't have one. That's why she's drawn to Mengyao.
"Mengyao," Hongyan said, crouching beside her with an inviting smile. "Would you like to go shopping with me? I'll buy you something delicious."
Mengyao opened her mouth to politely decline.
"Sure!" came out instead.
She blinked, confused by her own response. Why had she agreed? She had things to do.
But Hongyan's face had lit up with such joy that Mengyao couldn't bring herself to take it back. Before she could reconsider, a warm hand wrapped around hers.
"Wonderful! Let's go then."
Mengyao tried to pull her hand free, testing the grip.
It didn't budge.
Regarding Hongyan's invitation to go shopping, she vaguely remembered refusing several times in her previous life.
Well, might as well go along with it this time.
In her first life, aside from the day her aptitude was tested, she'd never left the Steadyroot Company compound again. Later, after becoming a disciple of Celestial Path Sect, she'd only ever seen Verdantree City from high in the sky during departures and arrivals. She'd left without attachments and never returned.
She glanced up at Hongyan's profile and unexpectedly met her gaze. The gentle smile on the woman's face made her lose focus for a moment.
Coming back to her senses, she squeezed Hongyan's hand. Hongyan's steps became noticeably lighter.
The woman had her own burdens, Mengyao knew. More than ten years ago, pregnant with her second child, Hongyan had been targeted by rivals within her husband's merchant family. The daughter she'd been carrying died in the womb, and her own health had been permanently damaged.
The physicians said she would never be able to bear children again.
Now, she'd accepted reality, but the weight of it still pressed on her heart. She and her husband had been so close to having both a son and a daughter...
Their son had turned out to have cultivation talent and been accepted into a decent fifth-rank sect. Hongyan was happy her child could walk the immortal path, but more often than not, she felt lonely. Sects were wonderful, but so far away. He could only return home once every ten years.
Two years ago, seeing her often downcast, her husband had proposed a solution: "If you can't give birth, adopting is even easier."
Thus, she'd taken on the task of hosting the children who would attend this year's recruitment ceremony, giving explicit instructions to Zhan, her guard, to watch for potential candidates.
And he'd found one. An abandoned girl with bright eyes and quick wit.
It even feels like fate, Hongyan thought, smiling down at Mengyao.
----------
[POV: Alexei]
Alexei woke to sunlight streaming through the gaps in the window curtains and the sound of Jianqiang snoring like a broken engine.
He lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, before the other man's snoring cut off abruptly.
"You awake?" Jianqiang's voice came from across the room.
"Yeah."
"Good. Get dressed. We're supposed to meet the others for breakfast, then head to the plaza."
They got ready in silence, both too tired for morning conversation. By the time they made it downstairs to the inn's common room, Yan and Qingxue were already waiting, along with Quan and Duan.
The plump innkeeper personally served them breakfast.
"Today's agenda is reconnaissance," Quan said once everyone had eaten. "We'll split up to cover more ground. Yan, Qingxue, take Alexei with you to the merchant district and plaza area. Duan, Jianqiang, and I will handle the residential quarters and outer districts."
After breakfast, the group split up as planned. Alexei found himself walking between Yan and Qingxue through Verdantree City's streets, trying not to look like a tourist gawking at everything.
It wasn't easy. The city was massive, bustling with activity, and surprisingly... normal.
He'd expected cultivation cities to be filled with beautiful people flying on swords and mystical architecture everywhere. Instead, it looked like any other pre-industrial urban center.
"Disappointed?" Yan asked, noticing his expression.
"Kind of expected more flying."
"Most cultivators don't waste spiritual energy on showing off in public. And the majority of people here are ordinary mortals anyway." She gestured at the crowds. "Verdantree City has maybe a few thousand cultivators and several hundred thousand regular people. You do the math."
Cultivation was rare. Of course most people would be normal.
The closer they got to the Immortal Alliance Plaza, the more the character of the streets changed. Regular shops gave way to vendor stalls run by cultivators, their goods displayed on blankets or crude wooden tables. Spirit boats loaded with merchandise were parked along the wider streets.
And the noise level increased dramatically.
"Body Tempering, the foundation of cultivation!" a vendor shouted, standing on a box to project his voice. "The most important stage on the path to immortality! Don't let your children fall behind! Four-piece Body Tempering Set available now! Bone-Strengthening Pills, Meridian-Opening Pills, Qi-and-Blood Pills, Foundation-Building Elixirs! Even martial artists can use them! Authentic Alchemy Alliance products!"
Another vendor nearby was advertising almost identical goods. "Qi Refining, the beginning of true cultivation! The most crucial stage for any cultivator! Smart cultivators invest in quality! Four-piece Qi Refining Set! Qi-Gathering Pills, Spiritual Nourishing Pellets..."
"Foundation Establishment is the most critical stage..."
"Core Formation determines your future potential..."
Alexei glanced at Yan. "Let me guess. Every stage is the most important stage?"
"They're trying to sell pills to nervous parents who don't know any better." She pointed at one stall where well-dressed families were clustered, asking about prices and wincing at the responses. "Those pills work, technically. But they're overpriced and not strictly necessary. Most sects provide basic cultivation resources to their disciples."
"So it's a scam?"
"More like aggressive marketing. The pills aren't fake, just expensive." Qingxue's tone was matter-of-fact. "Cultivation is expensive in general. Pills, techniques, weapons, formations... everything costs spirit stones. And most people don't have many spirit stones."
They passed stall after stall, Alexei taking mental notes as he went. There were herbs he did not recognize, strange crystalline formations, and weapons that looked more decorative than functional.
Then a different kind of shout caught his attention.
"Cultivation technique jade slips! Massive discount! Secret realm discoveries! Ancient techniques from the Profound Scripture Realm! Only three mid-grade spirit stones! Anyone interested? Last one available!"
Alexei looked at the stall. The vendor was holding up a small jade slip, waving it enticingly at passersby.
"Qingxue," he said, "that guy's selling cultivation jade slips."
"Fake," she said without even looking.
"How do you know?"
"Real technique jade slips from secret realms don't get sold for three mid-grade spirit stones on street corners. They get auctioned off for thousands of high-grade spirit stones to major sects." She finally glanced at the vendor. "That's either a blank slip with nothing recorded, or it contains some worthless breathing technique that anyone could learn for free at a public library."
"So why is he allowed to sell it?"
"Because technically he's not lying. It probably is a jade slip. It probably does contain a technique. He just conveniently fails to mention the technique is garbage." Yan's expression showed mild distaste. "Welcome to cultivation commerce. Half of it is overpriced necessities, the other half is outright scams. Learning to tell the difference is part of survival."
Alexei filed that information away for future reference. "Good to know."
As they continued walking through the market, he found himself comparing it to home. He thought of the open-air markets he remembered from Russia, with their narrow aisles and shouting sellers who promised miracles for only a few rubles.
The goods were different, but the rhythm was the same. If cheap electronics and knockoff tools were replaced with pills and jade slips, very little actually changed.
People were trying to make money, while others were trying not to get cheated. Every seller swore that their product was the best anyone would ever find.
Some things were universal.