Xai had set the unconscious bandit against the wagon while Qin searched through the boxes. The junior eyed the bull that casually rest on the ground. "Should we untie the bull?"

  "We can later." Qin replied almost immediately as he opened the top of one of the crated mumbled something about bedding and closed it before moving to the next one.

  "Who were these people? And why were their levels so high?" Xai asked.

  "Bandits. They were hauling illegal cargo by the sound of it. Which is the exact reason the last disciple was sent this way. As for their levels- it cause they actually knew how to fight. Well... compared to your average person I suppose." Qin cracked open another crate, saw nothing of interest, and shut it. "The system gives levels to any living animal. From a small rabbit, to the mightiest of beasts. Humans are no different. Most of the time the average person's level will be around 5. Around level 10 or 15 and they are somewhat trained. Around 20 or so are the real killers, bandits and the like. Anything higher, like him," he gestured a hand to the man with the snapped neck who had been the highest level of their group. "Likely have the system, or Ki, or both. Just something that sets them apart from normal men."

  "If that's the case, then why did my level reset back to 1 when I touched the ascension stone?" Xai asked.

  "It didn't reset anything. Before the system you had no level. The only reason it appears to other system users is as a sort of threat scale. Showing roughly how strong they are. Ironically enough though, since you become level 1 once you awaken the system, that's how you appear. But you keep your strength. So despite being a level 1 when you awakened the system, you probably showed something around level 15 before it."

  Xai nodded, at least somewhat understanding what his senior was saying. "What about other intelligent life other then humans. Like Oni, or Niao-Min?"

  "They would simply start as a higher rank at relatively similar levels. Accessing the system would just set their level to 1 of their respective rank." Qin stated as he opened up another crate.

  "Is there any major difference between someone who ranks up to a specific rank, and one who was born to it?" Xai asked. He hadn't had much time to think about such questions through his time training. Even during his long hours of meditation to pull Ki into his core, he had needed to flood excess thoughts from his mind.

  Qin didn't answer, fixated on something inside the crate he'd just opened. He reached into the wooden box and pulled out a small leather pouch. Xai stepped forward for a better look as Qin opened the back to reveal its contents.

  Within were several dozen small rocks, each with small runic carvings etched into them. It reminded him of the script he'd seen on the ascension stone back in Dangtang.

  Xai peered inside the crate to see several small pouches, identical to the one in Qin's hand. There had to be at least 50 pouches within the crate, but likely more. "What are these?" Xai asked.

  "Minor ascension stones. They allow others to tap into the system, though it consumes the power of the stone to do it." Qin stated, taking one of the rocks from the pouch and rolling it around in his hand. "They are illegal to manufacture without a verified imperial document. Even then they aren't sold. They are given to soldiers of Azuma. Even when they needed to be transported, it was done by imperial guards. Not these lunatics." The senior tossed the pouch back into the crate.

  "So what do we do now? Just notify the authorities about the stones and kill these guys," Xai gestured to the unconscious man. "And try to find that sect member who went missing."

  "Almost." Qin stated as he took out a small piece of parchment from his gi. He channeled a small amount of Ki into the paper before setting it onto the crate's side, the paper magically sticking to the wood. "The sect will be here to pick all this up," he walked over to the unconscious man. "And he will answer some questions."

  ***

  The "interrogation", if one could even call it that, ended nearly as quickly as it had began. Meaning that the bandit hardly told them anything. Even with some rather violent persuasion from Qin, the bandit only answered one question.

  "Where did you get the ascension stones?" Qin asked, grabbing the bandit's middle finger. His index finger had already been bent backwards as well as his pinky.

  "I'm not gonna tell some fucker like you. Once Mr. Hang finds he hasn't gotten his new shipment, he'll rip- gah!" The bandit cried in pain as another of his fingers was bent out of place.

  Qin grabbed onto the last unbroken finger of the man. "You don't seem to care for you fingers do you?"

  The bandit just smirked before spitting a clump of blood onto Qin's gi. "Hang will kill you just like he did the last one of you fucks. If you're going to kill me, then kill me. He would do a hell of a lot worse to me."

  Qin just sighed. "As you wish." He let go of the man's finger before pressing his own against the man's chest, above his heart. Qin channeled Ki into his finger before jolting it forward, through the man's chest and into his heart.

  Qin pulled out his bloody finger and whipped it on the bandit's pant before standing. He looked to Xai. "Now we head towards Xuefeng."

  ***

  "He didn't really help." Xai noted as they began their trek along the mountain. An hour or so had passed since they left the forest- once again at a sprint.

  "He did give us one thing. Their leader's name is Hang." Qin noted.

  "How does that help? It's just a name." Xai turned his head as they ran to see Qin with an odd smirk on his face.

  "You still have a lot to learn about the world of cultivation, Xai."

  Another hour came and went in silence. Until something came into view at the base of the mountain. Nearly 1000 feet beneath lay a large town. Xai couldn't make out any of the finer details apart from one large building that stood above the rest within the heart of the town. He immediately recognized the design.

  "There's a ministry building here?" The Junior asked as he gazed down at the city. The Ministry of Azuma was simply a branch of the Emperor's power that managed the economy across the country. Xai knew there were ministry buildings scattered across the cities of Azuma- in fact there was one in Dantang- but he hadn't expected one here.

  "They are in most towns and cities of decent size. How many times have you been outside your home town before going to the sect hall?" Qin asked, raising a brow.

  Xai felt his cheeks warm for a moment as he answered. "Twice. Once was just to the nearby coast to fish with my father."

  Qin nodded in understanding as his gaze scanned the horizon, watching the setting sun turn the sky orange. "We seem to be a bit ahead of schedule despite the confrontation with the bandits. I expected more issues within the forest."

  "What is our plan now then?" Xai asked.

  "We'll go into town and pay for a night or two at one of the inns. The next morning we will stop by the ministry building to talk to the town's minister about the illegal goods. I'm sure the last section member who was here did the same, but it wouldn't hurt to ask again." Qin explained. He then looked to the sack slung over his pupil's shoulder. "What did you pack?"

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Just some spare clothing, bedding, healing ointment, and..." Xai trailed off as he pulled his pack in front of him to look at its contents. He pulled out a small box before opening it revealing a small white block. He then closed it. "Soap."

  Qin just raised a brow as he scanned over the contents of the bag. "Only two of what you've stated were necessary."

  "I told Toya I didn't need half of this stuff." Xai mumbled.

  "How much sūka do you have?" The senior asked.

  Xai's face fell as he'd forgotten one very important commodity: money. Sūka was the currency across the country of Azuma. It took the form of small coins made of various metals or gems. Each coin was worth anywhere from a single sūka to as many as several hundred. In fact, Xai wasn't quite sure how high the value of any individual coin went, but the highest he'd ever seen was 500 sūka; roughly the price of several nights within some of Azuma's most luxury inns. Though he doubted there was anything worth that much within the town below.

  He inwardly cursed himself as his eyes cast to the ground.

  Seeing his expression, Qin just sighed. "Oh all the things you bothered to bring with you currency wasn't one of them?"

  Xai didn't even get a chance to speak when the senior spoke again.

  "It's fine... I can pay for whatever expenses we may have. Just remember this when you go on missions on your own. Bring sūka with you." He stated before starting down the mountain.

  ***

  Xai had always found the naming conventions of most inns, taverns, and the like very strange. He understood they mostly served merchants and wanderers but that was hardly an excuse for the 'WhistleWood Inn' as it had nothing to do with whistling or wood- apart from the fact the building was mostly made of it, but so was the case for everything else in town.

  Odd naming conventions aside, the inn was rather nice. In the late evening most of the tables were full of people drinking and chatting. Several servers walked amongst the tables handing out food and drink alike. The aroma in the air was soothing, reminding Xai how little he'd actually had to eat the past several days.

  Many heads turned in the cultivator's direction as they stepped through the door, though just as quickly most turned back. Xai had a feeling it wasn't that they weren't interested in their reason for being in the establishment.

  Qin walked across the room, not seeming to care about the gazes on him. He walked up to the bar at the far end of the room and began talking with one of the staff. Xai quickly caught up with the man, trying not to meet the eyes of anyone looking his way.

  "It is 10 sūka for a night for two." The man behind the bar stated. Without a word Qin set a 10 sūka coin on the bar. "It'll be upstairs, last door on the right."

  Qin nodded and held a hand out to Xai. "I'll take your pack to our room. Get yourself some food. I heard your stomach grumbling on the way here." He stated bluntly as he set a total of 30 sūka before Xai.

  The junior handed Qin his pack, slightly embarrassed his stomach had revealed his hunger. Damnit high perception.

  Xai turned back to the bar, fiddling with the coins before him as he looked up at a large board on the wall before him, listing the menu. It was then a voice rang as if right next to him, Qin's voice. "Keep yours eyes sharp and ears open. Don't reveal too much. Meet me in the room after you've had a meal."

  Xai opened his mouth and turned to speak only to see Qin not there. He had gone upstairs right? Then he felt an odd sensation worm its way from his mind. A strand of foreign Ki. Then he understood. Qin had messaged him with a Ki technique. He'd heard of such techniques where cultivators could speak across vast distances. It would make sense for someone as experienced as senior Jie to have such a technique.

  Xai shook his head from the odd sensation only to notice the man across the counter staring at him quizzically. "Are you ordering something or not?" He asked.

  Xai's face reddened as he looked back at the menu.

  He ended up spending 12 of the 30 sūka on a bowl of noodles with some strange meat inside- an 'ishi centipede' according to the name of the dish. Despite the noodles apparently having the meat of what Xai assumed to be a giant insect, it actually tasted quite good. While he ate however, he turned in his seat to scan over the occupants.

  Most of the occupants weren't above level 5, with two in particular both being level 8. Though they seemed somewhat larger than most other occupants so that was likely the reason. Xai tried to listen in to conversations nearby. His enhanced perception let him easily hear conversations even across the room, however it worked as a double edged sword. While he could hear people from across the room, he could also hear everyone else. Even most of the banter within the kitchen in the back of the building. He tried to tune it out the best he could, but it was still mildly overwhelming. He found it nearly impossible to single out a single conversation in the cacophony of sound. Then a voice spoke mere feet from him as he ate.

  "Another cultivator of the Silver Mist sect here so soon after the last one went missing?"

  Xai turned his head to see a woman roughly his age, possibly a few years older, in the seat next to him looking at him with a smirk. Xai took a quick glance of the woman before he replied. Her hair was long and black, falling gently over her shoulders. Her clothes were basic, if not nicer than the average civilian. She wore a purple kimono wrapped tightly around her rather 'well endowed' form. The kimono had a design of violet vines and flowers printed along it as if they were wrapping around her body.

  Looks aside, what caught Xai's attention the most was her level.

  [Level: 87 (F)]

  Not only that, but also the swirling mass of purple Ki within her torso, just below her chest.

  "My eyes are up here." The woman chuckled.

  Xai blinked at the sound of the woman's voice, now glancing up to look her in the eyes. How long had he been staring? Wow his face was on fire. Xai resisted the urge to raise his hand and pluck a hair from his scalp. "Sorry..." he whispered before raising his voice, hardly able to even hear himself. "Sorry, I just didn't expect to see someone with a dantian here."

  The woman laughed again. "And here I thought you were staring at my chest. But you didn't answer my question. Why're you here?"

  Xai stared at his half eaten bowl of noodles. "Just here looking for another cultivator." He stated.

  The woman rolled her eyes. "I assumed that already. But why?"

  Xai just raised a brow and looked at the woman, doing his best to focus on her eyes. "Because they went missing? Possibly due to a gang who's been smuggling illegal-" Xai paused, noticing a few words too late at what he'd said. It was if the words had just tumbled out of his mouth before he even knew he'd spoken them. Xai bit his lip to keep from speaking as he looked back at his food.

  The woman laughed again. "Oh yeah." She said, mostly to herself. A moment later, Xai felt a fog clear from his mind. He hadn't even noticed it prior, but now he could feel the difference. As soon as that woman spoke to him, it was as if his mind began moving through honey. He hadn't even questioned who the woman was nor anything about herself before he started answering her questions. Not only that, he'd spilled more information then he'd wanted to.

  "Sorry about that." The woman said. "I keep forgetting to draw my Ki from my technique."

  "Who are you?" Xai asked, now looking the woman in the eyes much more sternly then before.

  The woman gave him an amused look. Her gaze hovered a few inches above Xai's head before returning to his eyes. She stuck a hand out to the young man. "Hana Jing, junior disciple of the Dancing Lion sect."

  Suddenly everything made sense. The Dancing Flower sect, even to the common man, was known for owning a plethora of brothels throughout Azuma. While the sect owned far from all of them within the country, there tended to be at least one in every decently sized town across the region. However the brothels were primarily just a way of funding the sect. While Xai wasn't privy to the knowledge of what they truly did, he assumed it had something to do with espionage to one degree or another.

  Xai shook Hana's hand. "Xai Faung, disciple of the Silver Mist sect. Why are you here?" He asked, turning her own question on her.

  Hana just waved a hand to the tables across the room. "A warm meal of course. And one of the sect's establishments is within Xuefeng. Albeit a small one."

  Xai nodded in acknowledgment as he took about slurp of noodles. "What do you know of the last cultivator who was here?"

  Hana shrugged. "Not too much. I saw him a few times. He went by the brothel once, but I never spoke to him. I knew he was here on a mission, and by what you said- well almost said- a moment ago, I assume it had something to do with illegal goods."

  "Heard anything about that? Isn't information gathering one of your sect's specialties?" Xai asked.

  Hana put a finger over her lips and gave a rather childish wink. "I'll never tell." Suddenly Xai wondered if she had reactivated whatever Ki technique she was using before. Then Hana continued. "On a more serious note, I've heard nothing, then again I also haven't asked. What are the illegal goods that gang had?" Hana asked.

  Xai bit this lip again. He'd slipped up before on almost revealing the information. He took another slurp of his noodles as he contemplated the decision. Then a thought began to prod at his mind. She was a fellow cultivator. In fact, she was part of one of the 8 Great Sects. With something so pivotal to the power dynamic of the sects- access the System- on the line she deserved to know. Plus, she was stunning in both personality and looks, so why not.

  "They had a crate full of minor ascension stones." He stated before taking another slurp of noodles.

  Hana's face shifted ever-so-slightly to worry. "Oh. Well a group of criminals gaining access to the System is definitely an issue." She set a hand on her chin and tapped her finger against her lips in thought. "Well I'll be sure to ask the others at the brothel about any suspicious people with oddly high levels. But I think I've occupied your attention long enough." She stated as she got up. "Stop by a place called the 'Violet Veil' that's the brothel where my branch of the sect is located."

  As Hana walked towards the exit, Xai felt the sensation of strand of Ki leaving his mind. He was about to take one final bite of his noodles when he realized what he just felt. "Shit!" He shouted before racing out the door after the woman.